The New Team 7
by MrsDragneel1203
Summary: A person can cause certain reactions from people. They can cause a person to be really happy, but cause another to be completely enraged. Sasame Zanya is a student who graduated from the academy and placed on Team 7 with Naruto and Sasuke as her teammates and Kakashi as their sensei. How would her being on the team change them? How would having them as close friends change Sasame?
1. Chapter 1

In the Elemental Countries, there are places known as shinobi villages. There are many of these villages spread throughout the land, but there are only five that are truly well known. They are known as the Five Great Shinobi Nations.

We have the Land of Earth, which is home to Iwagakure, the Village Hidden in the Stones.

We have the Land of Lightning, which is home to Kumogakure, the Village Hidden in the Clouds.

We have the Land of Water, which is home to Kirigakure, the Village Hidden in the Mist.

We have the Land of Wind, which is home to Sunagakure, the Village Hidden in the Sand.

And finally, we have the Land of Fire, which is home to Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Each one of these villages, including smaller nations such as Takigakure or Amegakure, are home to shinobi - the military might and power of a ninja village. These shinobi protect their village and perform missions for a set fee.

In order to do their duty, a shinobi needs to have the ability to do many things. One of the things they need to have is the correct mindset. Eventually, a shinobi will have to end someone's life, whether it be in self-defense or on purpose. Another thing they might have to do is something that goes against their morals. A person working to become a shinobi should be aware of this and not be disillusioned just because of the respect a shinobi gets.

A person who's willing to be a shinobi must also be physically capable. Shinobi are known to jump from building to building, run long distances without stopping, and having an advance endurance level. A person who's willing to become a shinobi must also be willing to train their bodies to an extent that allows them to perform these tasks and more.

And finally, a person who's willing to become a shinobi must be able to mold their chakra effectively. Every living thing, whether it be a person or an animal or a plant, has chakra inside of them. A shinobi can mold and shape their chakra to use in jutsu to attack an enemy or defend an ally.

There are three different types of jutsu that shinobi use; Taijutsu, Genjutsu, and Ninjutsu.

Taijutsu refers to any type of attack that utilizes martial arts and relies on strength and stamina from training to perform. Although taijutsu doesn't normally use chakra, it can be enhanced by using it. Taijutsu, simply put, is hand-to-hand combat and is used by almost every shinobi.

Genjutsu refers to illusions. Using chakra, a shinobi can make an enemy see, hear, or feel things that aren't actually there. This technique requires decent chakra control and not normally used by people with large chakra stores. Not many shinobi use genjutsu as an offensive technique, merely as distractions and misdirects.

And finally, Ninjutsu, the most commonly used jutsu of shinobi. Ninjutsu is probably the most used technique for attacks. It requires decent chakra control and an appropriate amount of chakra as well. In the simplest of terms, ninjutsu is everything that isn't genjutsu or taijutsu.

Another thing shinobi use, other than jutsu, are weapons. Whether it be swords or kunai or ninja wire, a shinobi always has weapons on their person.

A shinobi is also a loyal soldier to their village. Those who betray their village or no longer holds its best interest at heart are declared as nukenin(rogue ninja). They are then declared to be either killed on sight or captured.

They are many great shinobi in each of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, and some had even gone on to become legends.

However, it seems lately that most infamous shinobi hail from Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Some examples include Asuma Sarutobi, one of the Twelve Guardians of the Daimyo; Kakashi Hatake, the copy-nin; Maito Guy, taijutsu specialist, and all four of the hokages, each rather infamous in their own right.

And now, we get to see three more shinobi from the Leaf Village, well on their way to becoming infamous shinobi themselves.


	2. Chapter 2

The Third Shinobi World War has been over for years, but that doesn't mean a shinobi stops training or an academy stops teaching students how to become shinobi.

In the Hidden Leaf Village, when a person reaches the age of eight years old, they are given a choice; they can either stay civilians and enter the civilian school or join the Academy and learn how to become shinobi.

If they choose to join the Academy, they will not only take regular classes, such as maths and reading and history, but also chakra control, tactics, kunai and shuriken throwing, stamina, and hand-to-hand combat.

If you're a girl who's joining the Academy, then you'll also have to go through kunoichi classes. These classes are to teach girls special skills and defenses that are unique to women.

When the child reaches the age of twelve, they graduate and become genin, the lowest level of shinobi.

Right now in the village, there is a class of genin hopefuls that have to take their exam tomorrow. There are kids from civilian backgrounds and kids from shinobi backgrounds, all willing to become shinobi themselves.

But this class is not like the ones that came before it. For starters, this class has all of Konoha's major clan heirs in it and some promising students from the civilian side too.

There's Aburame Shino, heir to the Aburame Clan. Members of this clan are known as 'hosts' or 'nests' for several breeds of insects that they use to fight with. Members of the Aburame clan are also known to be intelligent and objective when it comes to decisions needing to be made on the battlefield.

There's Akimichi Chouji, heir to the Akimichi clan. Members of this clan are known to always be eating and to have a bigger physique than most people. That is because their clan techniques require them to manipulate their body weight and size by converting their calories into chakra. Most members of the Akimichi Clan also uses a bo in their fighting styles.

There's Haruno Sakura, a girl from a civilian family. She doesn't have a lot of physical strength but is extremely smart and knows the shinobi code inside and out.

There's Hyuuga Hinata, heir to the Hyuuga Clan. Members of the Hyuuga clan are born with the Byakugan, a doujutsu that allows them to see through solid objects gives them an almost 360-degree vision and the chakra system inside a shinobi. They have a fighting style called the Juuken which utilizes their Byakugan.

There's Inuzuka Kiba, heir to the Inuzuka Clan. Members of the Inuzuka clan are known for their fighting techniques involving their chosen ninken and their fang marking on their cheeks.

There's Nara Shikamaru, heir to the Nara Clan. Members of the Nara Clan are known for their intelligence in battle strategy and their laziness. They also fight using their ability to manipulate shadows.

There's Uzumaki Naruto, orphan of Konoha. He is loud, easy to anger, and really impulsive. He doesn't have many friends and many people of Konoha seem to dislike him. However, the people who do seem to like him and he likes back, he has unwavering loyalty for.

There's Uchiha Sasuke, heir to the Uchiha Clan. Members of this clan were known to have a natural affinity for fire and the doujutsu of the Sharingan. However, all members except Sasuke and his older brother, are now dead.

There's Yamanaka Ino, heir to the Yamanaka Clan. Members of this clan specialize in mind related techniques, which makes them specialists at intelligence gathering, espionage, and interrogation. The Yamanaka Clan holds a special relationship with the Akimichi and Nara clans, their members frequently being teamed up into a three-man cell known as the 'Ino-Shika-Cho Trio'.

However, there is a student that isn't from a civilian family or a ninja clan. Her parents are both shinobi, although her father died when she was three. Her mother's parents were originally from Kirigakure, so her mother knows a lot of water jutsu. She has a lot of chakra for a kunoichi and is the fittest among those in her class.

Her name is Zanya Sasame and this is her story.


	3. Chapter 3

Sasame exited the Academy with a smile on her face, her blue-clothed hitai-ate tied around her neck.

She had passed her exams with flying colors. She passed her written exam, got 8/10 on kunai throwing and 9/10 on shuriken throwing, was able to do a flawless **Henge no Jutsu** (Transformation Jutsu), do a **Kawarimi no Jutsu** (Substitution Jutsu) without hand seals, and was able to create a couple of **Bunshins** (Clones) that looked exactly like herself.

Overall, the Senseis were pleased with her performances. (Particularly Iruka-sensei).

"Hey! Ame-chan!"

Sasame looked up and saw her mother standing a few feet from her, a smile on her face. Sasame looked just like her mother; long dark blue hair, a shade darker than her friend Hinata's, and dark blue eyes. Her mother looked like she could be from royalty with her bone structure while Sasame has her father's features.

Her mother's name is Nami, which means 'wave'. She said her parents named her that to keep their heritage as Kirigakure citizens alive.

Sasame grinned and rushed to her mother, throwing her arms around her. "Kaa-san!" she exclaimed. "I did it!"

Nami laughed. "I see that," she said while gesturing to her hitai-ate. "I'm proud of you."

Sasame's grin softened into a smile. "Arigato," she said gratefully as she pulled out of the hug.

Nami smiled at her. "Come on," she said. "Let's go home, I'll make you your favorite to celebrate."

"Tomato Soup?" Sasame asked excitedly.

Nami laughed. "Yes," she said, struggling to keep her laughter under control.

Sasame started towards their house when mutterings sounded around her and her mother.

"He was the only one who didn't graduate."

"That's a good thing, we don't want some-"

"Shh! We are not allowed to speak of it! Hokage-sama would have our heads!"

Sasame turned around and saw a couple of ladies huddled close together, glaring towards the Academy. She looked to see where they were staring at and saw a classmate of hers sitting on the swing, a sad air about him.

His name? Uzumaki Naruto.

Nami started towards the gossiping women and stood in front of them, her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed. "I think you ladies can find better things to do with your time than glare at a little kid," she snapped at them.

The two civilian women, upon seeing Nami's hitai-ate tied around her forehead, blanched white and hurried away.

Nami shook her head in disgust. _'He's an innocent kid,'_ she thought to herself. _'It's disgusting how some of you act.'_

Sasame was staring at Naruto. She was well aware of the fact that many people didn't like him but she didn't know why. She thought that it was because of all the pranks he pulled on almost every person in the village.

She glanced at her mother. "I'm going to go talk to him," she said softly. "I'll catch up with you."

Nami looked at her with a smile. "Okay," she said. "I'll see you at home." She then disappeared in a flurry of leaves.

Sasame made her way over to Naruto. When she was right in front of him she cleared her throat.

Naruto looked up and saw her. "Oh, hi Sasame!" he said with false happiness.

"Hey Naruto," she said with a smile. "How are you?"

A sad look passed over his face quickly before it was replaced with another huge grin. "I'm fine," he said loudly. "Nothing can keep the future Hokage down!"

Sasame smiled at him. "I'm sorry about you failing the genin exam," she said apologetically.

Naruto frowned slightly. "Yeah," he muttered as he stared at his shoes. "Me too."

"I'm sure you'll pass next year," Sasame said optimistically.

Naruto looked at her with wide eyes. "You...you really think I can do it, dattebayo?"

Sasame shrugged. "Sure," she said. "You have the drive for it. If you put in the work you can graduate next year."

Naruto looked up at her with shining eyes. He then grinned and gave her a thumbs up. "You got it! I'll totally ace it the next time, dattebayo!"

Sasame smiled and was about to say more when a voice interrupted them.

"Hey, Naruto-kun."

They both looked over and saw Mizuki-sensei walking towards them with a smile on his face.

Sasame backed up slightly. Although Mizuki-sensei was almost always smiling and he hardly ever yelled, Sasame noticed that his smiles never quite reached his eyes. To her, he seemed a bit...false.

"Hi Mizuki-sensei," Naruto said cheerfully. Sasame merely nodded at him.

"Hello Sasame-chan," he said with a smile. "Sorry to interrupt but I have to talk to Naruto for a minute."

"Okay," Sasame answered. She looked to Naruto. "See you around Naruto."

"Yeah, you too Sasame!"

Sasame walked away, taking one second to glance back at the duo before continuing on.

~wWw~

"I'm back!" Sasame shouted as she stepped into her home.

The moment Sasame closed the door, the smell of food wafted towards her, making her mouth water.

"Kaa-san?" she called out.

"The dining room!" Nami's voice answered back.

Sasame hurried into the room and smiled happily at what she saw. Her mother was setting two bowls of tomato soup onto the table that had two wrapped boxes on it. One box was narrow while the other was a square.

"Kaa-san, you got me presents?" she questioned in wonder.

"Well, you did just graduate and become a genin," her mother said as she sat down, gesturing for Sasame to do the same. "It's an important step in your life as a shinobi."

Sasame sat down. "Itadakimasu," she said before digging into her food with gusto.

They spent the rest of the meal chatting about what happened that day, what she did during the exams, what questions she answered on the test, things like that. Although, Sasame kept stealing glances toward her two presents during the conversations.

"Alright," Nami said as she cleared away the empty dishes, "I know you're itching to open your presents. Open this one first."

She handed Sasame the narrow package and watched as her child opened it with anticipation.

Sasame gasped at what she saw inside. There were two metal rods about 15 or 16 inches long with a perpendicular handle a third of the way down.

"Are these-" Sasame said in awe.

"Tonfas," Nami answered with a nod. "Yes, they are. They're used as melee weapons and can also be used for defense. They are made with black chakra metal as well."

Sasame had pulled out the tonfa and was examining them with a fascinated eye. "They're beautiful," she murmured. She held them by their handles and tried twirling them. "They'll be fun to learn how to use," she said with a grin.

"You still have one more box to open," Nami reminded her with a smile.

Sasame looked at her. "Oh," she said sheepishly. "I almost forgot about that one."

Nami handed her daughter the last remaining box and sat back.

Sasame opened this one as fast as she did the other one, and was equally amazed at what was inside. There were sets of the same outfit.

It was a dark blue sleeveless battle qipao, the same color as her hair and eyes, with black trimmings and seem to stop at the upper thighs area. A black obi, black spandex shorts, and black ninja boots that seem to stop just below her knees were also in the box.

"Sugoi," Sasame breathed out. "These are beautiful."

"Listen Ame-chan," Nami said seriously. "A kunoichi's greatest weapon is not a kunai or a sword or even ninjutsu; it is deception. No matter how many times we've proven ourselves in the past, kunoichi have been underestimated and viewed as not as strong as our male counterpart. We use this to our advantage and we catch them off guard."

Sasame nodded to show she understood. After all, her mother wears an outfit similar to the one she got her. The only difference is that she wears a dark purple qipao-style shirt and black shinobi pants that stop below her knees with black ninja boots as well.

Sasame approached her mother and enveloped her in a hug. "Arigato Kaa-san," she said.

"No problem," Nami said as she ruffled her hair.

"Well, I'm going to head to bed," Sasame said as she pulled back. "I want to wake up on time tomorrow."

"Of course," Nami said. "See you in the morning."

"Bye Kaa-san," she said as she headed to her room.

' _Tomorrow's the day it all starts,'_ she thought to herself.


	4. Chapter 4

When Sasame walked into the academy the next day wearing the outfit her mom bought her, along with her new weapons strapped to her sides, eyes were trained on her person. Most of the guys were blushing at the obvious curves the outfit showed off while most of the girls glared at her in jealousy.

Uchiha Sasuke, Akimichi Chouji, and Nara Shikamaru were the only ones who seemed to be only interested in the new weapons she had.

"Sasame, why are you wearing that outfit?" Sakura questioned. "Are you trying to get Sasuke-kun's attention?" she continued with a sneer on her face.

Sasame rolled her eyes. _'Fangirls,'_ she thought in irritation. "No Sakura," she said calmly. "These were a present from my mom for graduating."

"We won't let you tempt Sasuke-kun with your wiles!" she continued as if Sasame hadn't said anything, getting a roar of approval from almost all of the girls in the class.

Sasame rolled her eyes again and didn't bother to comment. She went and sat next to Shikamaru and Chouji, two of her closest friends. A moment later, while everyone was still mingling, the window next to them opened and, to her surprise, Naruto jumped through it.

He wore a blue-clothed hitai-ate tied around his forehead.

"Naruto?" Sasame said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Yeah," Shikamaru said in his lazy drawl. "The only people who should be here are people who graduated. Last I checked, you failed the exam."

Naruto scowled. "Ya see this?" he asked while gesturing towards his forehead with his thumb. "It means I'm a shinobi Shikamaru. I took some other test that let me graduate, dattebayo!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said.

Naruto smiled at Sasame. "Hiya Sasame!" he said cheerfully.

She smiled. "Hi Naruto," she said with a smile. "I guess you're a ninja now huh?"

He nodded energetically. "Yep! One step closer to becoming Hokage!" he cheered.

He was a little too loud. Now, most of the class was staring at him.

Ino scoffed. "Yeah right Naruto-no-Baka!" she exclaimed. "As if someone like you is going to become Hokage! If anyone's going to become the Hokage, it's going to be Sasuke-kun!"

"Yeah!" Sakura chimed in. "A loser like you can't beat someone like Sasuke-kun!"

"Tch," Naruto muttered. "What's so special about him anyway, dattebayo?"

He leaned over to look at Sasuke, who was sitting in the row in front of them, and stared him in the eye as if to see all of his secrets. Sasuke stared right back with a scowl on his face.

They didn't notice the guy about to bump into Naruto.

Sasame did though. "Naruto, watch out!" she called out, but it was too late. The guy bumped into him, causing Naruto to fall forward.

His lips to crash onto Sasuke's.

A cry of outrage sounded from all of Sasuke's fangirls while the others, including Sasame, either giggled or laughed at the scene.

They immediately leaped apart and started gagging, their hands wrapped around their throats; they even seemed to turn a little green.

Naruto, however, didn't notice the danger known as fangirl feminine fury creeping up behind him. By the time he did notice it was too late. They grabbed ahold of him and dragged him away to beat him senseless, his pain-filled cries echoing throughout the room.

Sasame watched all this with sympathy. "He will come back a changed boy," she said gravelly as she watched him get a beat down.

Shikamaru scoffed. "Of course he will," he said matter-of-factly. "All girls are troublesome, no matter the age, height, or size."

Sasame raised a brow at him. He coughed. "Most girls anyway," he corrected. She nodded as if to say _'that's right!'_

Naruto had just gotten away from the girls and sat down next to Sasuke when Iruka-sensei walked into the room. Strangely, he had bandages on his cheek and looked slightly ruffled. _'I wonder what happened to him?'_ Sasame wondered to herself.

"Hello everyone," Iruka-sensei said as he glanced at all of them. "Congratulations, you are shinobi and kunoichi of Konoha!" he said with a smile. "From now on, you shall be responsible for your own actions and will protect the Leaf with your lives."

"Now," he said, "on to the teams."

He began to read off the clipboard in his hand. Everyone tried to stay focus to see when their name was called but it was tough to stay interested, even for Sasame.

"For Team 7," he said, "We have Uzumaki Naruto" - Naruto piped up at that - "Zanya Sasame" - Naruto grinned and Sasame gave a small smile - "and Uchiha Sasuke." - Naruto slammed his face into the desk he was sitting at - "Your sensei shall be Hatake Kakashi. Now, for Team -"

"Hold up, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted as he jumped up. "Why does an awesome shinobi like me have to be paired up with somebody like Sasuke?!"

Iruka sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sasuke had the best scores among the boys while you, Naruto, had the worst. You guys were placed together to even the other out."

There were some chuckles at that as Naruto sat down with a scowl and a glare aimed at Sasuke, which the boy ignored.

"Wait a minute Sensei!" Sakura said before Iruka could continue speaking as she too stood up. "How come I'm not on a team with Sasuke-kun?"

"Or me?" Ino added haughtily as she flipped her hair.

Iruka sighed again. _'Kami-sama, please give me strength,'_ he thought to himself before answering. "Sasame has the best scores out of all the girls in the class. Because of this, she was placed with Sasuke and Naruto."

"But I thought I had the best-written scores Sensei," Sakura persisted.

"That may be so Sakura, but you also had one of the worst physical scores," Iruka said bluntly, to Sakura's embarrassment. "Sasame had one of the best physical scores, a great written score, and also did well on the kunai and shuriken test. Since she accomplished all of that, she is named Kunoichi of the Year and is paired with Sasuke and Naruto."

Sakura shot Sasame a nasty look as people laughed at her, which she ignored.

Iruka kept listing of names, stating that Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Hyuuga Hinata became Team 8 under Yuuhei Kurenai and Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, and Yamanaka Ino became Team 10 under Sarutobi, to Ino's frustration.

"Ugh! So not only am I not on a team with Sasuke-kun, I get paired with the laziest guy in class and his sidekick?" Ino complained before slamming her head onto the desk.

"Good luck with her," Sasame murmured to Shikamaru and Chouji under her breath.

Choji smiled while Shikamaru groaned in frustration as he too slammed his head on the desk.

"Your senseis should arrive after lunch to pick you up," Iruka-sensei said as he finished up calling out names. "I suggest you use the lunch hour to get to know your new teammates."

Ino stood up and looked to Shikamaru and Chouji. "If I'm going to be stuck with you two then I'm whipping you into shape," she snapped. "Meet me on the roof." She then stomped away.

"Kami-sama help me," Shikamaru said pitifully.

Sasame patted his back in sympathy. "Good luck with that," she said. She then looked to Chouji. "Come find me sometime and we can go have some barbecue. My treat."

Choji beamed and handed her a chip. "Thanks, Sasame," he said.

She grinned and popped the chip into her mouth. "Well," she said around her mouthful as she stood up. "I guess I should go find my teammates."

"An idiot and emo," Shikamaru said with a grin. "It seems you need the luck more than I do."

Sasame shot him a glare and walked away. Seeing that neither Naruto or Sasuke were in the room, she left to go search for them.

She started checking the classrooms to see if they went into one of them. She was about to give up hope of ever finding them inside the school when she opened another door and found, to her astonishment, Sasuke tied up.

He didn't notice her open the door since he was too busy trying to untie himself.

Sasame entered the room. "Sasuke-san?"

He looked up at the sound of her voice. "Get me out of here," he demanded.

"O-Okay," she said as she bent next to him. "How'd this happen?"

He scoffed. "Naruto."

"Naruto?" Sasame said in shock as she got the ropes off. "How'd he get the drop on _you_ of all people?"

He scowled as he got up, rubbing his wrists. "He ambushed me with **Bunshins** (Clones)," he said waspishly. "They turned out to be solid."

"Solid **Bunshins** (Clones)?" she asked.

"Hn," he answered as he left the room.

Sasame followed after him. "Where are you going?"

"To find the idiot," he said shortly. "What else."

"Well, I'll come with you," Sasame said as she walked next to him. "We _are_ supposed to be having lunch together after all."

Sasuke didn't say anything.

"Wait," Sasame said haltingly after a moment of silence. "You said Naruto used solid **Bunshins** (Clones)?"

"Yes," he said irritably. "Why?"

"Well, solid **Bunshins** (Clones) require a lot more chakra than the ones taught at the academy," she said as she thought.

"Right," he replied, his tone of one of disbelief as he checked another room. "And how do you know this?"

"My mom told me about them when we started learning the **Bunshin no Jutsu** (Clone Jutsu)," Sasame answered. "She had said the one we were learning is basically an illusion and that other clones can actually help you in a fight."

"Hn," Sasuke replied. "What other **Bunshins** (Clones) are there?"

"Um, there's the **Tsuchi Bunshin** (Earth Clone) made from the earth and mud," Sasame said ponderously as they walked along. "I think there might be a lightning clone but I can't be too sure. And then there's a **Mizu Bunshin** (Water Clone) made from water. My mom can do that one since she has a water affinity."

"Hn," Sasuke said again, slightly impressed by her knowledge. "The ones the idiot got me with appeared and disappeared in puffs of smoke."

" _What!_ " Sasame shouted out in shocked and stopped walking.

Sasuke stopped too and looked at her in confusion. "What?"

"S-Sorry," Sasame said as she got over her shock. "I'm just...surprised that he's able to use _that_ one."

"What's so special about the one he used?" Sasuke asked her, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"It's a technique created by the Nidaime Hokage," Sasame explained as Sasuke's eyes widened. "But it requires so much chakra that it's mostly Jounins who use it."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. _'So the idiot managed to learn a Jounin-level skill,'_ he thought angrily. _'I'll_ _have to beat him then. If I can't even beat him, how am I supposed to beat_ _ **that man**_ _?'_

Sasame noticed Sasuke's change in personality and gazed at him in concern. "Hey Sasuke-san," she said softly. He looked at her, snapped out of his thoughts. "Are you okay?"

He looked at her. "I'm fine," he said shortly.

Sasame frowned, not believing his answer. She opened her mouth to contradict his statement but another voice called out before she could.

"Hey! Sasuke-kun!"

They both turned their heads towards the voice and saw Sakura hurrying towards them. "Sasuke-kun," she said breathlessly as she stopped in front of them. "I came to see if you wanted to have lunch together," she added as she held up a bento.

Sasame chose this moment to intervene. "We're supposed to have lunch with our teammates Sakura," she said carefully.

Sakura shot her a glare full of venom. She turned back to Sasuke with a sweet smile on her face. "I just feel bad for you Sasuke-kun," she said sorrowfully as she gazed at him with stars in her eyes. "You're not only stuck with Sasame" - she shot the girl another glare - "but also with Naruto-no-Baka. You know, he acts the way he does because he doesn't have any parents."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her but Sakura didn't notice as she continued speaking. "I mean, if _I_ acted the way Naruto does, my parents would get mad and I'd be in so much trouble. Naruto's lucky that he doesn't have any parents that scold him every time he does something bad. I mean -"

Sasuke was getting angrier and angrier the longer she talked. He was about to cut in to get her to shut up but Sasame beat him to it.

"Excuse me?" she said quietly as she glared at Sakura. Both she and Sasuke looked over at her in shock. Well, Sakura did. Sasuke just stared at her with a slight widening of his eyes.

"What?" Sakura said haughtily but faltered slightly at Sasame's glare.

"Did you really just say you're jealous of Naruto because he doesn't have any parents?" she seethed.

Sakura, her bravado melting away in the face of Sasame's anger, merely nodded.

Sasame scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You stupid, naive, little _girl_ ," she snapped. Sakura flinched and unconsciously took a step back. "You don't know how good you have it. You have parents to go home to. They were there for you whenever you fell down or had a nightmare. They were there to wish you Happy Birthday and to tell you they loved you. Not everyone gets to have that!"

Sasame spun on her heel and marched down the hall, anger filling her entire being. When she rounded a corner, she paused and gave herself a moment to regulate her breathing. The conversation reminded her of her father, who she would've killed to get to know. Just thinking about what Sakura had said made Sasame want to go back and punch her dead in her face

She covered her eyes with her hand as she felt them begin to burn with unshed tears and continued to take deep breaths. She was so emersed with controlling her breathing that she didn't hear the footsteps coming towards her.

"Sasame-san."

She looked up and saw Sasuke looking at her, a glint of something she couldn't discern in his eyes. "Sasuke-san," she said, blinking her eyes rapidly to disperse the tears of an old sadness. She took another deep breath. "Sorry, I didn't mean to blow up like that."

He simply stared at her a moment. When Sasame was about to break the slightly awkward silence, he spoke up. "It was well warranted."

Sasame let out a laugh as she felt her breathing finally steady. "Yeah," she said. "She's so sheltered she doesn't know what it's like to live like a ninja."

"Hn." He glanced at her before saying carefully, "You told Haruno that she doesn't know how good she has it. What did you mean?"

Sasame frowned slightly at his question but answered nonetheless. "Even though I still have a mother, my father died when I was little and I barely have any memories of him," she admitted, averting her eyes. "I only know what he looks like because of pictures."

Sasuke looked at her for a moment before he walked down the hall. "C'mon," he called without looking back. "We have an idiot to find. We're supposed to eat together, right?"

Sasame jerked and lifted her head to eye his retreating back. _'Did he really just say that?'_ she thought in disbelief.

Sasuke looked over his shoulder. "So?" he said archly. "Are you coming or not?"

"I'm coming!" Sasame called out as she jogged to catch up with him.


	5. Chapter 5

"Naruto, I seriously think you shouldn't be doing this," Sasame called out to the orange-clad boy.

Her and Sasuke had found Naruto with a bunch of his clones that were, strangely, fighting to get into the same bathroom. Sasame had dragged Naruto away to have lunch with them, but the two boys ended up arguing most of the time.

(Well, Naruto argued. Sasuke mainly ignored him and 'Hnned' at certain intervals.)

They went back to the classroom to wait for their sensei with everyone else but he hasn't shown up yet. Everyone had left, including Iruka-sensei, so Naruto thought he'd play a prank on their sensei as payback for being more than an hour late.

"Well, he shouldn't be late then, dattebayo!" he countered as he slid a chalkboard eraser on top of the door. When the door opened, it should fall on his head.

Sasuke remained silent, his chin on his clasped hands. He couldn't stop thinking about what Sasame said to Haruno earlier. Her words just wouldn't leave his head no matter how hard he tried.

Sasame sighed. "Naruto," she said. "Our sensei is supposed to be someone teaching us how to be better shinobi. Do you really want to anger him like this?"

Naruto opened his mouth to reply but stopped when the door opened and the eraser dropped on the person's head.

Naruto laughed loudly. "HAHAHA! You fell for it,!" he shouted out in glee as he rolled around the floor in laughter. "That's what you get for being late, dattebayo!"

Sasame sighed and looked at the man presumed to be their sensei. "I'm sorry sensei," she said regretfully, "I tried to stop him."

Sasuke merely stared at him. _'This is the guy who's supposed to be our sensei?'_ he thought in disbelief. _'This guy is a Jounin?'_

The man was dressed in dark blue shinobi pants and a long-sleeved shirt, the same color as Sasame's battle qipao. He wore the standard Konoha flak jacket and on his hands were fingerless gloves with metal plates on the backhand. He had his weapons pouch strapped to his right leg and a mask covering the lower half of his face. His hitai-ate was slanted over his left eye and he had spiky silver hair.

"Hmm," the man said. "My first impression of you three...I'm not impressed."

Naruto scowled at the man, Sasame frowned, and Sasuke merely stared at him.

"Meet me up on the roof," he said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

They all looked at each other before Sasame got up. "Well," she said as she started towards the door. "Let's get this over with."

The boys followed behind her, walking up the stairs and onto the roof where their sensei was waiting.

"Finally, you're here," he said nonchalantly. "It took you long enough."

Naruto scowled at him again and sat down on the ground opposite him, Sasame taking the seat next to him and Sasuke taking the seat next to her.

"Well, now that we're all here, why don't we introduce ourselves," he said, his attention on a book in his hands. "Tell me your likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, things like that."

"Why don't you go first sensei," Sasame suggested. "We all know each other, you're the unknown one."

"Me?" he said in a bored tone. "Well, alright. My name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes and dislikes are my business. Dreams for the future...well. And I have many hobbies."

Naruto and Sasuke were exasperated. _'We only learned his name,'_ they thought equally.

Sasame however, was in shock. "Wait," she said in shock. "You said your name is Hatake Kakashi?"

He looked at her. "Yes…"

Sasame gasped. "Sugoi," she said. "I didn't know you'd be one of the senseis."

Sasuke and Naruto looked at her in confusion. "You know this guy Sasame?" Naruto asked her.

Sasuke was wondering the same thing.

She shrugged. "I know _of_ him," she replied. "Kaa-san says he's a pretty well-known shinobi."

"As interesting as this sounds," Kakashi interrupted them, "we should move this conversation along. You next blondie."

"Okay then," Naruto said excitedly. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen and Iruka-sensei and Sasame and Sakura-chan and Hokage-jiji! What I dislike is people who think they're better than everyone else, bullies, and the three minutes it takes for ramen to cook!"

Sasame and Kakashi sweatdropped at al the ramen that was in his statement. _'That's a lot of ramens,'_ they thought in unison.

Sasuke merely glanced at him in disdain at his choice of food.

"My hobbies?" Naruto mused. "I guess I like pranks."

"But my dream," Naruto exclaimed excitedly with determined eyes, "is to be the greatest Hokage! That way people can acknowledge my existence and treat me like I'm somebody, dattebayo!"

Sasame smiled at him while Sasuke glanced at eyed him out of the corner of his eye, vaguely interested.

Kakashi closed his eyes as he, presumably, smiled. "Well that was interesting," he said cheerfully. He pointed to Sasame. "You next blue-eyes."

Sasame sat up. "My name is Zanya Sasame. I like my Kaa-san and my Tou-san, my friends Shikamaru-kun, Chouji-kun, Hinata-san, and Naruto. And I _love_ Tomato Soup!" she finished excitedly.

Sasuke turned his head towards her slightly at the mention of her favorite food. Naruto merely had a thoughtful look upon his face at the thought of someone's favorite food being something other than ramen.

"I dislike bullies, people who use others for their own purposes, fangirls, people who believe girls can't fight, and I absolutely _hate liars_ ," she finished with a deep scowl.

Sasuke and Naruto didn't say anything about her last comment, but they were definitely curious.

(Sasuke hid his curiosity better than Naruto)

Kakashi was the only one who had an idea of why she hated liars so much.

"My hobbies?" she said thoughtfully. "Training, I suppose. My dream is to grow up and be the kind of shinobi my father would have been proud of," she finished strongly.

Naruto smiled at her and gave a thumbs up.

Sasuke merely glanced at her before quickly looking away.

"That was enlightening," Kakashi said thoughtfully. He pointed at Sasuke. "And now you brooder."

Sasuke glared at the name but answered anyway. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like many things but I guess I like training. And tomatoes," he added with a glance at Sasame. She beamed at him.

"I dislike many things, chief among them fangirls and traitors," he said with a scowl. "I don't have any hobbies. And...I don't want to use the word 'dream'...let's call it ambition. I'm going to restore my clan, and kill a certain...person."

Slightly tense silence met his declaration.

Naruto was sweating. _'I hope he wasn't talking about me!'_ he thought nervously to himself.

Sasame was staring at him in concern. _'Who's this person he wants to kill?'_ she wondered to herself.

"Well," Kakashi said as he straightened up. "That was very informative. Also, I hate to break this to you guys, but you're not yet shinobi."

"NANI?!" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke was scowling at the man while Sasame was looking at him with wide eyes.

"We passed the damn test to graduate! What do ya mean we're not shinobi, dattebayo!" Naruto shouted out in frustration.

"The test at the academy was to see who had the _potential_ to become shinobi," Kakashi explained. "Those who passed have to undergo another test by their sensei. But this test has a 66% chance of failing."

"Alright, then bring it on, dattebayo! We can pass any test you throw at us!" Naruto yelled.

"The test isn't right now," Kakashi said patiently, although on the inside he wanted to bang his head against something hard at how impatient he is. "Meet me at training ground three at 5 am tomorrow. Oh, and I suggest not eating unless you want to puke. Ja ne."

He disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Nobody spoke for a moment. All of them, even Sasuke, was just a little too stunned by what the silver-haired man had said.

Sasame was the first to break the silence. "Well," she said. "That just happened."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. "Who was that man Sasame-san?"

"Hatake Kakashi," Sasame answered easily. "He's pretty well-known."

"Yeah, that's what you said earlier," Sasuke stated. "What makes him so well-known?"

"Yeah," Naruto added. "You look like you about to fangirl over him, dattebayo."

Sasame glared at him. "Do _not_ call me a fangirl," she hissed at him. He shrank back slightly at her scary glare.

"Anyways," she continued speaking in an even tone. "He's famous because of his track record. He graduated from the academy when he was five years old, became a chuunin when he was six years old, became a Jounin when he was ten years old and joined the ANBU when he was thirteen."

Both Sasuke and Naruto were staring at Sasame with wide eyes.

' _That's an even better track record than Ita..._ _ **that man**_ _!'_ Sasuke thought to himself in shock.

"Whoa," Naruto said quietly. "That guy did all of that?"

Sasame nodded. "That's what my Kaa-san told me," she said.

Naruto's jaw remained unhinged. _'Wow! That guy is amazing!'_ he thought to himself. _'He's not as useless as he looked!'_

"We should all go home," Sasame said after its been quiet for five minutes. "We'll need to get up early for tomorrow."

Sasuke nodded and walked away from them without a word or a backward glance.

"See ya tomorrow Sasame!" Naruto said to her and then he too took off running down the stairs of the school.

Sasame sighed. _'Something tells me tomorrow is going to be a pain in the ass,'_ she thought. _'Or as Shikamaru-kun would say, it'll be such a drag.'_

~wWw~

Sasame yawned as she walked towards training ground three the next day. When she got home yesterday and told her mother who her teammates were, as well as the extra test she had to do, she wasn't surprised. She said she was there when the teams were decided because they had wanted her to take on a genin team but she declined.

She also said that it's against the rules to tell genin hopefuls about the extra test unless they find out using their own means. She said she believed Sasame could do it though.

Since Kakashi-sensei said not to eat, her mom forced a lot of food on her for dinner to compensate for this morning but she was still hungry.

When Sasame arrived at the training ground she noticed that Sasuke was the only one there and looked about as tired as she did. He was leaning against one of the three training posts and seemed to be struggling to stay awake.

He looked over at her when she walked up and sat down against one of the other training posts. "Ohayo Sasuke-san," she said through a yawn.

"Hn."

She looked at him in amusement. "Is that all you ever say?"

He looked back at her. "Hn," he repeated, although there was a quick dart of emotion through his eyes. It could've been amusement, but Sasame wasn't quite sure.

Naruto chose to stumble into the training ground at that moment, his bright orange jumpsuit hurting their eyes and a hand rubbing one of his eyes, his other lifted in acknowledgment. "Hey Sasame," he said tiredly. "Hey, bastard."

Sasuke glared at him but was too tired to send an insult back.

Sasame leaned her head against the post behind her. "Hey," she said after a moment. "Do you think sensei will be late like he was yesterday?"

"Well, if he is, then I shoulda stayed asleep longer," Naruto grumbled.

Sasame glanced at him, and then at Sasuke. "You guys can sleep," she offered. "I'll stay up and keep watch."

"That's not fair Sasame!" Naruto immediately protested. "You're tired too."

"Hn," Sasuke said.

' _Was that him agreeing?'_ Sasame thought in amusement. "It's okay," she said out loud. "I don't mind. If we're going to be teammates we should look out for each other right?"

"If you're sure…" Naruto trailed off but he was fighting a losing battle with his eyelids.

Sasame nodded. "I am," she said firmly. "Go. Sleep."

Naruto leaned back against the post. "'Kay," he muttered. "Goodnight."

He was out in a matter of seconds and begun snoring.

She chuckled. _'Man, I kind of envy how easy he can fall asleep,'_ she thought in amusement.

Sasuke got her attention by calling her name. "Sasame-san," he said. "We can all go to sleep."

 _'I think that was his way of saying I don't need to stay awake,'_ Sasame thought to herself in bemusement.

"Sasuke-san," she said. "It's fine. You need to rest for this test sensei is going to make us do."

"So do you," he countered.

"I'm not sleepy anymore," Sasame said easily, trying to unsuccessfully hide a yawn.

Sasuke eyed her suspiciously. "Fine," he relented. "Wake us as soon as he gets here."

"Sure."

Sasuke looked at her before nodding and leaning back against the post. And then he was asleep.

Sasame sighed and turned her face upwards to stare at the sky. _'I really hope sensei won't be late,'_ she thought, _'but I wouldn't hold my breath.'_

She leaned back against the post and tried to keep herself awake and distracted by mentally reciting the shinobi code over and overagain.

However, after a couple of hours of doing that and with still no sign of their sensei, Sasame was getting impatient.

She sighed again and got into a meditation stance. _'Meditation helps clear the mind and maintain focus,'_ she repeated the statement her mom said to her inside her head. _'For shinobi, focus is crucial to surviving. If you go into a situation with a distracted mind, death could be imminent for you and your teammates. If you have focus, you can get out of there intact.'_

Sasame evened out her breathing and closed her eyes to concentrate. She blocked out the sounds of birds, Naruto's snoring, and even the sound of the breeze filtering through the trees.

She blocked out all sound, reached deep within herself, and began to focus.

~wWw~

When Sasame came out of her meditation, the sun was higher in the sky, and there was still no sign of their sensei.

Hearing a noise next to her, Sasame looked over to see Sasuke stirring slightly. After a minute, his eyes opened and he gazed around in slight confusion. However, his eyes quickly lost their unfocused look as he gazed around his surroundings. He blinked when his eyes landed on Sasame.

"Sasame-san," he said in greeting. He looked around the training ground again before glancing at the sky. He frowned. "It's almost noon," he noted. "Is Kakashi-sensei still not here?"

Sasame shook her head. "No," she sighed. "This is ridiculous, he shouldn't be this late."

"Hn."

Sasuke glanced over at Naruto, who was still snoring without a care in the world. "We should wake up the idiot," he said.

Sasame frowned at him. "You shouldn't call him an idiot Sasuke-san," she scolded.

He merely looked at her. "Hn."

She rolled her eyes, knowing that she was fighting a losing battle with that one. She walked over to Naruto and shook his shoulder slightly. "Naruto," she called out. "Naruto wake up, we have to be ready for when sensei gets here."

Naruto continued snoring, merely shifting in his sleep when Sasame shook him harder. She sighed. "How the hell are we supposed to wake him up?" she asked in frustration.

"I got it," Sasuke said as he stood up. He walked over to where Naruto was and stood over him. He looked at him a moment before he bent down and smacked him across the face.

"Sasuke!" Sasame gasped, forgetting to add the suffix to his name in her shock as Naruto woke with a yell. "You didn't need to wake him like that!"

"It worked didn't it?" he asked. He stepped back as Naruto scrambled up and glared at him.

"Bastard! What the hell was that for?!" he shouted angrily, rubbing the cheek that was smacked.

"Tch. Idiot," he said. "Sasame-san tried to wake you up earlier. It didn't work so I used my way."

"You didn't have to smack me, dattebayo!" he protested irritably.

However, before anyone could comment any further, there was a swirl of leaves and Kakashi was standing before them. He held up a hand. "Yo!"

"Hey!" Naruto shouted while pointing at him. "YOU'RE LATE!"

"I'm sorry," he said. "But as I was making my way here, a black cat crossed my path and I had to take a different route. And then I saw an old lady who needed help with her groceries. I couldn't just walk away." he shrugged in a ' _what can you do'_ sort of way.

There was silence as the three students stared at the man incredulously. _'Is he serious?'_ they all thought simultaneously.

"Anyway," he said airily, "I think it's about time to start the test."

Sasame, Sasuke, and Naruto all straightened up after he said that, their focuses all trained on him.

Kakashi took out three Bentos and placed them on top of the posts. He then took out two bells that were held together with a string. "Your test is to take a bell from me. If you don't manage to take one from me before noon, you don't eat lunch."

Three stomachs growled in unison after he said that.

Sasame scowled at him. "That's why you told us not to eat," she realized. "You wanted us hungry so we'd work harder to get the Bentos."

Kakashi's eyes closed in a smile. "Got it in one!" he said joyfully.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Naruto blurted out. "Kakashi-sensei, there are only two bells!"

"I was waiting for someone to notice," he said, his voice still annoyingly cheerful. "You are correct, there are only two bells. That is because whoever doesn't get a bell will be going back to the academy."

"NANI?!" Naruto shouted out in horror.

Sasame had a hand over her mouth in shock and Sasuke was frowning at Kakashi while glancing at his two companions.

Kakashi hung the bells at his waist. "Come at me with the intent to kill, or you won't get a bell," he said seriously. He took out an alarm clock. "Ready...set...GO!"

All three of them jumped away.

~wWw~

Sasame hid in the bushes and stared over to where Kakashi was still standing.

' _Something's not right,'_ she thought in suspicion. _'Kaa-san was always telling me cool stories about missions she and her team used to take. She never mentioned any two-man genin cells that she couldn't have encountered. And while there_ are _apprenticeships, there aren't that many and they're usually done with only one person with a single sensei. But Kakashi-sensei said that he'll take_ two _students. That's just not done!'_

Sasame glanced around and started to stealthily move out of her hiding place.

' _I need to talk to Sasuke-san and Naruto about this,'_ she thought. _'We need to figure out the actual goal of this test,'_

But before she could go any further, a voice rang out, causing her to look in its direction. What she saw made her want to slam her head against a tree. Repeatedly.

Naruto was charging at Kakashi with reckless abandon, throwing out sloppy punches and kicks that the other man easily caught or dodged.

' _I guess I should find Sasuke first then,'_ she inwardly grumbled. However, another shout from Naruto caused her to glance back at them.

She doesn't know what Kakashi did but Naruto was sent flying away, yelling at the top of his lungs.

Sasame sweatdropped. _'I guess I'll go to Naruto first then,'_ she deadpanned to herself.

She hurried over to where she saw him fall and came upon a stream. Naruto burst from its depths as soon as she came close.

He was coughing and spluttering out water and was muttering some very unkind things about Kakashi-sensei under his breath.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Sasame asked in concern.

"Huh?" Naruto looked up. "Oh, hey Sasame! I'm fine! I just have to try a new tactic against Kakashi-sensei, dattebayo!"

"About that," Sasame said. "I think there's more to this test than what sensei said."

"What?" he said with a confused look on his face. "What do you mean?"

"I'll explain once we find Sasuke," Sasame said as she started walking back the direction she came from.

Naruto followed behind her, grumbling about 'not needing that damn bastard's help' but Sasame ignored him.

When they got back to where Kakashi was, they were shocked to find Sasuke's head sticking out the ground.

Well, Sasame was shocked. Naruto just thought that the whole thing was hilarious.

"Look at you bastard!" he crowed in amusement. "Kakashi-sensei got you good, dattebayo!"

Sasuke glared at him venomously. "Shut up dobe!" he roared, humiliation coloring his cheeks slightly.

" _Both_ of you SHUT UP!" Sasame yelled out, effectively cowing them into silence, temporarily shocked by how loud her voice got. "We have bigger things to worry about."

She turned to look at Sasuke. "I'm sorry but the only way to guarantee you'll listen is to leave you in there," she said apologetically.

He glared at her.

"Just listen," she said. "Doesn't this test seem odd to both of you?"

"Hn."

"What's wrong with it?" Naruto said cluelessly. "All we have to do is kick sensei's ass and get a bell."

Sasame sighed. "Guys just...think for a second. Where has it ever said that Konoha has genin teams with only two genin? Iruka-sensei always told us that there are always three people under a sensei," she insisted.

"Apprentices," Sasuke grunted out.

"Apprentices are only given to one person under a sensei," she countered. "So why would Kakashi-sensei say he'll only take on two students?"

"Maybe he was lying?" Naruto questioned.

"Yeah," Sasame answered. "But why?"

No one spoke for a moment.

But then -

"A distraction."

Sasame and Naruto looked down at Sasuke. "Huh?" Sasame said. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah bastard," Naruto added. "What are you talking about, dattebayo?"

Sasuke glared at him. "Kakashi-sensei said that one of us would have to go back to the academy if we don't get a bell," he said mulishly. "That would cause us to fight over each other to get a bell first, right?"

"Yeah," Sasame nodded slowly. "And if we were too busy fighting, we wouldn't find out about the real test."

"But what's the real test?" Sasuke asked.

"...maybe teamwork?"

Sasame and Sasuke both looked over at Naruto in shock. "What did you just say?" Sasuke demanded.

Naruto scowled at him. "I said teamwork, dattebayo!" he said angrily.

"What made you come to that outcome Naruto?" Sasame asked.

He blushed and looked away. Scratching the back of his head, he answered her. "Well, you guys said he wanted us to fight so...what if we worked together? Maybe that's why he tried to trick us?" he said uncertainly.

Sasame stared at him in awe. "Naruto you're brilliant," she exclaimed. "It makes _perfect_ sense!"

"It does?" Naruto and Sasuke said in unison.

Sasame nodded. "Yeah, it does," she said. "He wanted us worried about being sent back to the academy so that we'd do everything we could to prevent it."

"And see if we can catch the hidden test," Sasuke realized.

"Exactly," Sasame said smugly. She bent down next to him. "C'mon Naruto, we have to dig him out and then come up with a plan to get those bells."

~wWw~

Kakashi was standing in the middle of the field, seemingly bored by everything around him as he supposedly read a book in his hands. But in actuality, he was thinking.

' _Hm, things have been quiet,'_ he noted to himself. _'Naruto has already tried getting the bells from me, and so did Sasuke. But Sasame hasn't made a move yet. And the boys haven't tried again. I wonder what they're planning?'_

His musings were interrupted by the sound of shuriken being thrown. He looked up to see several flying towards him but he lazily moved his head to the side and allowed them to fly by.

He heard a shift him the air behind him and whirled around in time to catch Sasame and Sasuke's kicks that were aimed at his head.

' _They used a **Kawarimi no Jutsu** (Substitution Jutsu) on the shuriken,' _he noted in surprise. _They knew I'd dodge them. By dodging them and allowing them to go past me, it opened up the opportunity for Sasame and Sasuke to switch with the shuriken and attack me. Very well played.'_

Using the hold he already had on their ankles, he tossed them away. They hit the ground and rolled to their feet. They came at him again and Kakashi had to put a little effort to keep them from grabbing the bells.

' _Hm,'_ Kakashi noted to himself. _'They're a little sloppy but have the potential to work together at least averagely.'_

Suddenly they both jumped back and threw kunai at him. Kakashi grabbed his own kunai to deflect them but they exploded in puffs of smoke when they got close to him. From the smoke came two Narutos that tackled him to the ground.

Kakashi was caught off guard and didn't even try to dodge him. He landed on the ground with a slight 'oomph!'. When he quickly sat back up, he looked towards the three preteens and saw a smirking Sasuke, a smiling Sasame, and a grinning Naruto, who was holding up the two bells.

"How was that sensei?" Sasame said cheerfully.

"Yeah! We got you, dattebayo!" Naruto cheered.

Sasuke merely smirked wider. "Hn."

Kakashi admitted defeat. "Good job," he praised as he stood up again. "Now, who's going back to the academy?"

"No one," Naruto said confidently. "We figured out your little test sensei!"

"Yeah," Sasame nodded. "You wanted us to use teamwork to get the bells. You're not actually sending any of us back to the academy."

"I see," Kakashi said with no emotion. "Is that your final answer?"

All three nodded determinedly.

"Well then, I guess there's only one thing left to say to that," he said ominously.

They gulped.

"You three….pass."

Naruto cheered in glee. "Hell yeah, dattebayo!" he said happily. "We freaking passed!"

Sasame was hopping from foot to foot in joy, a smile lighting up her face.

Sasuke's smirk softened into a small smile fleetingly before his face arranged itself into a neutral look.

"You guys passed because you looked underneath the underneath," Kakashi explained. "Everyone else I tested did what I told them, no questions asked. Some people stick to what they're told because it means not breaking the rules. People who break the rules are scum, that is true. But you know what? People who betray their friends are worse than scum."

All three stared at their sensei after he said those words.

"He's actually kind of cool, dattebayo," Naruto said tearfully.

Sasame smiled up at him. "You got it, Sensei!"

Sasuke just smirked again.

"You are now my students," he explained. "Meet me again tomorrow at 9 am. Ja ne."

And in a swirl of leaves, he was gone again.

When he disappeared Naruto let out another cheer. "We did it, dattebayo!" he said. "We're finally ninja!"

Sasame giggled. "Yeah, I guess we are."

Sasuke glanced at her. "We probably wouldn't have passed if you hadn't tracked us down," he admitted.

"Yeah," Naruto added with a grin. "We owe ya one Sasame!"

She blushed. "It's no problem," she waved her hand about. "So, I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow?"

"Hn," Sasuke said. He turned around and walked away, a hand lifted in farewell.

"Yeah, see you and the bastard tomorrow Sasame!" Naruto called out as he ran towards his apartment.

Sasame sighed and allowed a smile to grace her face. A squeal wanted to leap from her mouth but she held it in and started making her way home.

' _I can't wait to tell Kaa-san!'_


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto was lying awake in his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

The clock on the nightstand next to the bed read 7:30 am. Yesterday, Kakashi-sensei said to meet back at the training ground at 9 am but Naruto was too excited to fall back asleep.

' _I did it, dattebayo!'_ he thought excitedly. _'I'm finally going to become stronger! And if I keep going, I'll be Hokage in no time!'_

No longer able to lay still on his bed, he jumped up and started pacing agitatedly, running a hand through his blonde locks.

' _I hope Kakashi-sensei teaches us some cool jutsu!'_ he thought with a grin. _'Like...like a giant fireball!'_

By the time 8:00 am rolled around, Naruto couldn't wait any longer. He rushed into his bathroom, emerging fifteen minutes later freshly showered, his teeth brushed, and his orange jumpsuit wore proudly on his body.

"It's still early," Naruto mused to himself as he walked into his kitchen. "I don't wanna go there right now and wait for Kakashi-sensei longer than I have to."

He opened his cabinets and was about to make himself some ramen when he paused.

' _Why should I make the ramen when I could go to Ichiraku's!'_ he thought triumphantly. _'And then I could go to the training ground to meet Kakashi-sensei, Sasame, and that bastard Sasuke! Kill two birds with one stone!'_

With that in mind, he raced out his apartment, making sure he locked his door and started heading towards his favorite ramen stand. It was still early out so there weren't many people out. However, for those who _were_ out and about, they either ignored him or glared hatefully and coldly at him.

Naruto glared at his feet as he passed those people. _'Stupid temes,'_ he thought with a scowl. _'One day, I'll show them all. I'll show them I'm not the Kyuubi, that I'm someone worthy of their respect, dattebayo!'_

He sighed in relief when he finally ducked behind the curtain of the ramen stand and grinned when he saw two of his precious people.

"Hiya Teuchi-jiji and Ayame-nee!" he said excitedly as he sat on a stool.

"Hi, Naruto-kun!" Ayame answered pleasantly.

"A bowl of pork ramen please!" he said.

Teuchi chuckled. "Yes of course," he answered knowingly.

"So what are you doing out so early Naruto-kun?" Ayame asked as they began bustling around getting the ramen ready.

"I have to meet my sensei and my teammates at training ground three this morning," he explained.

"Oh, that's right," Ayame said as she placed his bowl in front of him, along with some chopsticks. "What are their names?"

Naruto pulled the chopsticks apart and slurped some noodles into his mouth before he answered her. "Well, my teammates are Sasame and that bastard Sasuke."

"Language Naruto-kun," Ayame said warningly.

Naruto laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, nee-chan," he said contritely.

"And who's your sensei?" Teuchi asked.

"He said his name was Hatake Kakashi," Naruto said through a mouthful of noodles.

"Swallow before you speak," Ayame scolded. He blushed at her reprimand and swallowed dutifully. She smiled.

' _He really is such a sweet boy,'_ she thought fondly. _'He just needs a guiding hand every once in a while.'_

"Hmm," Teuchi said thoughtfully. "You said your sensei's name is Kakashi? Silver hair? Mask covering the bottom half of his face?"

"Yeah, do you know him?" Naruto asked curiously, finishing up his ramen.

He shook his head. "Not personally," he admitted. "But his team did a mission for me once." He chuckled. "I remember because he and another one of his teammates kept arguing the whole time."

Naruto laughed at that. "Really? That doesn't sound like him at all!" Still snickering, he glanced at their clock and, noticing the time, stood up from the stool. "I should be going," he said. "I don't wanna be late on my first day as a ninja after all! And thanks for the ramen Teuchi-jiji!"

He chuckled in amusement. "It was no trouble," he answered. "Now, don't be a stranger just because you're a full-time shinobi."

"Of course I won't!" he cried out indignantly. "I'll still be your number one customer even when I'm the Hokage, dattebayo!"

Teuchi laughed. "I'm holding you to that!"

"Good luck today Naruto-kun!" Ayame said with a smile.

"Thanks, nee-chan!"

With a wave and a grin aimed at both of them, he exited the ramen stand and quickly made his way towards the designated training ground.

~wWw~

Sasuke was sitting at a table in what used to be the family dining room in his clan home. The clock on the wall told him that it was currently 8:00 am, so he still had time before he had to meet Kakashi-sensei and his teammates.

His hand tightened around the cup of water he was holding.

' _I'm getting closer to you,'_ he thought venomously. _'I will get closer and closer to you until I'm strong enough to kill you!'_

He was thinking back to what Sasame had told him about their sensei. He graduated from the academy when he was five and made Jounin when he was ten; he even became an ANBU shinobi when he was thirteen.

' _If he really is that good, he'll be an excellent person to measure my strength against,'_ he thought victoriously.

His mind wandered over to his two 'teammates'.

Sasuke can admit, only within the privacy of his own mind, that Sasame and Naruto aren't _completely_ worthless.

Naruto, as idiotic as he is, seems to have a lot of chakra, indicated by that technique he used on Sasuke at the academy.

And Sasame, adding on to the fact that she never fangirled him, seems to actually be able to handle herself somewhat.

' _I guess they won't hold me back as much as I thought they would,'_ Sasuke admitted grudgingly. _'But they better not get in my way. I_ have _to achieve my ambition. I will make sure that Ita- that_ _ **man**_ _,_ _will_ die _by_ my _hand!'_

Sasuke shook himself out of his thoughts and glanced over at the clock again. Recognizing it was almost time to meet everyone at the training ground, he drank the rest of his tomato juice and put the cup in the sink.

With a last glance around the room, he made his way toward his front door and left. He walked through the Uchiha District, in the direction of the gates that blocked out the rest of the village.

The Uchiha District used to be so full of life. There used to be people milling about on the corners or in front of their homes, there would be quiet chatter ringing throughout the community, distant shouts of training with weapons or their fire jutsu, and occasionally there would even be laughter too.

Sasuke chose to remain here after the massacre for one reason, and one reason only; to remind himself of his ambition every day. To remember what his brother did to his family and to his clan. To just... _remember_.

When he finally got to the gates, he exited the district without a backward glance.

~wWw~

Sasame was standing in her room in front of her full-length mirror, just staring at herself.

Her dark blue hair fell to her shoulders and her dark blue eyes, the same eyes as her mother and her grandparents from what she saw in pictures, stared back at her.

Her mother wasn't home; she had to leave early for an A-rank mission that she said will take ten days at the most.

(She wouldn't tell her the details

Sasame was lost in her thoughts.

Today was the _official_ day that her career as a shinobi started and she was apprehensive. But not for the reasons you'd think.

' _Tou-san,'_ she thought pensively to herself. _'I want to make you proud of me. I want to become a shinobi that you would be happy to call your daughter.'_

"I wish you were here Tou-san," she whispered sadly to herself, her eyes tearing up slightly. "I wish you were here to see me now, and how far I've come along." She took a breath. "I swear to you Tou-san, I swear I will become a great shinobi. I swear that I will make you proud of me."

She looked back at herself in the mirror and wiped the few tears that managed to escape her eyes. She closed her eyes, breathed deeply through her nose to calm her emotions, before opening them again and having her thoughts and feelings under control.

She checked to make sure she had her weapons' pouch strapped to the back of her waist and her kunai holster secured on her right thigh.

She made sure that both tonfas were in their holsters at her sides and tied her hitai-ate around her neck. Making her way towards her door, she paused to glance at a photo on her wall.

It was of her and her parents taken a couple of days after she was born. Her mother was sitting upright in a hospital bed, looking extremely tired, but also exhilaratingly happy too. She was staring down at a pink bundle in her arms containing the baby version of Sasame.

A man was sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, also staring down at the baby, a smile lighting up his face. He had an angular facial structure and the typical Konoha brown hair. That man was called Zanya Haru, and he was Sasame's father.

Sasame aimed a smile towards the picture. "I'll do you proud," she said softly.

She left her room and made her way towards the front door and exited the house with determination and excitement feeling her being.

"Today is the day."

~wWw~

Sasame approached the training ground and was surprised to see that Naruto and Sasuke were already there.

Naruto noticed her first. "Oh, hey Sasame!" he said loudly while waving his arm at her.

Sasuke looked over at her. "Hn."

Naruto scowled and glared at him. "Bastard! At least say 'hi' to her! Is 'Hn' all you can say?" he asked furiously.

Sasuke merely glanced at him, a small smirk forming on his mouth. "Hn."

Seeing as Naruto looked as if he was about to explode in a fit of rage and insults, Sasame intervened.

"When did you guys get here?" she asked as she stepped towards them.

"I only got here about five minutes ago," Sasuke answered her, before jabbing a thumb in Naruto's direction. "The idiot was here when I showed up."

"Bastard!" Naruto growled at him. "Don't throw a hissy fit just because I showed up before you, dattebayo!"

He turned to look at Sasame then, ignoring Sasuke's glare. "I got here early because I couldn't sit still in my apartment," he admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Sasame giggled at that. "Yeah, my nerves are a little jangled too," she said. "But, we're here now right?"

Naruto nodded eagerly. "Right! And now I'm one step closer to becoming Hokage!" he cheered loudly.

Sasame smiled brightly at him and Sasuke merely stared.

"I wonder how long we'll have to wait before Kakashi-sensei shows up," Sasame mused after a moment.

"Well, he better not be extra late this time!" Naruto announced with a frown. "We got training to do! If he's late again, I'll kick his ass dattebayo!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Idiot," he said, making Naruto scowl over at him. "He's a Jounin, you won't even touch him. Remember how that turned out?"

Naruto's cheeks burned at the mention of his defeat to Kakashi yesterday.

"Besides," he continued speaking, ignoring Naruto's reaction, "remember what Sasame-san told us about him? He became a Jounin when he was just ten."

Naruto scowled at him and turned away, crossing his arms while refusing to say anything.

Sasame rolled her eyes. _'Getting these two to have a decent conversation with each other seems impossible,'_ she thought with a sweatdrop.

"Well, I'm hoping he gets here soon, I want to learn how to use these," she said, gesturing to the tonfas strapped to her sides.

Naruto frowned at her. "You don't know how to use those?" he asked. "And what are they called anyway?"

"They're called tonfas, Naruto," Sasame explained. "And no, I don't know how to use them yet. My Kaa-san gave them to me as a present for graduating."

"Why are they black?" Sasuke asked. "Are they made of some other material?"

"Kaa-san said they're made of chakra metal," Sasame answered him.

"Hn," Sasuke said. _'Interesting,'_ he thought to himself.

Naruto sighed. "How many hours are we gonna have to wait for Kakashi-sensei," he complained. "I'm getting bored!"

There was a swirl of leaves and Kakashi was standing in front of them with a hand raised in greeting. "Yo," he said casually.

"HEY YOU'RE-" Naruto cut himself off while he stared at him in disbelief, finger still pointed at him. "-not late," he finished lamely.

His eyes closed in what they assumed was a smile. "Why no, no I'm not," he said cheerfully.

Sasame eyed him suspiciously. "How come you're not late?" she asked.

"Hn," Sasuke was also staring at him in suspicion.

"Hey," Kakashi pouted. "Just because I was late two times doesn't mean I'll always be late."

"Uh-huh," Sasame said, obviously not believing him.

"You guys have no faith," Kakashi complained playfully.

Unknown to his three students, Kakashi had a valid reason for showing up slightly on time.

 _~Flashback~_

 _Kakashi was walking to the Hokage's office after his team passed his test._

 _His team._

 _Those words sounded almost foreign to him. After the Hokage forced him to get out of ANBU, he had tried to get him to pass a genin team. But everyone he had tested had utterly failed his test. In his opinion, if you couldn't work with your teammates or trust them, then they didn't deserve to call themselves shinobi._

 _He knew that lesson all too well. After all, the result of that failed lesson was stuck in his left eye socket._

 _He arrived at the door that led to the Hokage's office and entered without knocking._

 _He didn't have to knock; he was already an hour late to the meeting that was happening at that very second, involving possible Jounin-senseis._

" _Hello Hokage-sama," Kakashi said cheerfully. "Sorry I'm late but my weapon's pouch had ripped and all of my ninja tools fell out. I had to stop and make sure I gathered them all."_

" _Kakashi," Sarutobi Hiruzen greeted him. Everyone else in the office either ignored or glared at his excuse._

" _Now that Kakashi is here, we can start this meeting," Sarutobi announced._

 _After he said those words a man stepped forward. "Team one has utterly failed Hokage-sama," he said blandly. "They were not able to see the true purpose of the test at all. I suggest that they either going back to the academy or drop out of the shinobi program altogether."_

 _The Hokage sighed. "That bad?" he asked._

 _The man merely nodded._

" _Alright," he said. "Next person please."_

 _As more people stepped forward and reported how their students did on the secondary test, Sarutobi's shoulders sagged slightly. So far, most of the students had failed and those that did pass didn't have any indicators that they would do well in a certain field._

 _Things only changed when the person who was going to be team six's sensei stepped forward. "Team six failed the extra test Hokage-sama," the woman said. "However, one of the students had the potential for something else."_

" _Oh?" Sarutobi leaned forward. "Do tell. What is their name?"_

" _Haruno Sakura Hokage-sama," she answered. "While she did fail the true test along with her teammates, she has excellent chakra control, one of the best I've seen. I recommend that she interns at the hospital to become a medic-nin if she doesn't wish to repeat a year at the Academy."_

" _I approve," Sarutobi said. "Talk to her about this tomorrow; Konoha could always use more medic-nin."_

 _She bowed her head. "Yes, sir."_

 _Sarutobi turned to face Kakashi. "What about you Kakashi?"_

" _Hokage-sama," Kakashi said in acknowledgment. "Team seven passed, sir."_

 _All attention focused on Kakashi in shock. Since he had failed every team the Hokage has given him,_ no one _expected him to pass a team this time. Even if it included it included the last Uchiha._

"You _passed a team of genin?" some random Jounin asked._

 _Kakashi shrugged. "They actually figured out the true aim of my test," he said nonchalantly. "They passed with flying colors."_

" _Good work Kakashi," the Hokage praised. "Now, Kurenai, please tell us about team eight."_

 _The woman, Yuhi Kurenai, bowed her head. "Hokage-sama," she said. "Team eight has passed. They performed admirably to my test."_

 _The Hokage nodded. "Very good," he said. "And you Asuma?"_

 _Asuma blew out a puff of smoke from his cigarette before answering. "The next Ino-Shika-Cho trio of Team ten passed," he said._

 _Sarutobi nodded. "Alright," he said as he stood up. "Those of you who didn't pass a team, your duties will resume as normal tomorrow. Aiko-san, please go visit young Sakura tomorrow and suggest the hospital idea to her. Those of you who passed a team, you are now senseis. Your duty is to teach your students the way of the shinobi."_

" _Yes Hokage-sama," all the new senseis intoned respectfully._

" _You are all dismissed," he said to the room at large. "Kakashi, stay behind please."_

 _If he was confused by Sarutobi's order, he didn't show it. He merely nodded and stood at attention as everyone else filed out of the office._

 _When the door shut behind the last person, Sarutobi looked down at files covering his desk and picked one up. It was Team seven's file._

" _I need you to train this team seriously Kakashi," the Hokage said sternly._

 _Kakashi blinked. "That was my intention, sir," he replied in confusion._

 _"I know it was," he said. "But this particular genin cell is full of great potential. We must cultivate it as much as possible."_

 _He opened their file. "Iruka has reported that Naruto-kun has great stamina, seeing as he is the only one who can outlast everyone except Uchiha Sasuke on anything physical. Coupled with the fact that he has a great deal of chakra, evident from how he took down the traitor Mizuki, he can make an excellent ninjutsu and taijutsu specialist."_

" _Uchiha Sasuke," he continued, "has graduated at the top of his class with top scores. He's obviously intelligent and, with his background as an Uchiha, he is able to use fire jutsu already. When he unlocks his Sharingan, he'll be able to use genjutsu as well. He has the potential to be either a taijutsu and genjutsu specialist or a taijutsu and kenjutsu specialist."_

" _And finally, we have Zanya Sasame," he added. "Graduated with top scores for the girls. She has high chakra reserves that are a bit unusual to see in kunoichi hopefuls this early, but not overly high. Has excellent stamina for a girl her age and, from my understanding, is now equipped with tonfas. She has the potential to be a taijutsu speacialist with maybe a little bit of ninjutsu added in."_

 _The Hokage set the file down and gazed intently at Kakashi, his chin resting on his clasped hands. "This team has great potential," he said. "All three have the capacity to be something great for this village, and I am tasking_ you _,_ _Kakashi, to help unlock that potential."_

 _Kakashi nodded. "Of course Hokage-sama," he said dutifully._

" _You are dismissed," he said._

 _With a nod at his leader, Kakashi turned and made his way towards the door to leave but stopped at the sound of his voice._

" _And Kakashi?_ Do _train them as well as you can. I haven't seen this much potential since my students. And they grew up to become the Sannin."_

 _~Flashback Ends~_

Kakashi shook off the memory as he looked to his three Genin. "Okay, this is how things are going to go," he said seriously, gaining their attention. "We'll meet back here every day, same time as today. We'll do a warmup, time depending on how long you take. Then we'll do group training."

"Group training?" Naruto asked in confusion.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, things I could teach you all together, like teamwork exercises, chakra control, and techniques you are all capable of learning. Then we'll split off to do individual training."

"Why individual training?" Naruto interrupted again.

Sasuke scowled over at him. "Shut up idiot," he snapped. "If you let him finish speaking then he'll explain!"

Naruto's face turned sour as he glared over at Sasuke. "Shut it bastard!" he shouted at the raven-haired boy. "If I want to ask a question, I'll damn well ask a question, dattebayo!"

"Guys, please, enough with the arguing," Sasame said in exasperation.

Naruto is her friend and Sasuke isn't so bad when you spend more time with him, but when they get worked up like that, they annoy her to no end.

"Enough you two," Kakashi cut in. His students can't tell, but anyone who knew Kakashi could tell that he was fast becoming exasperated. "I said we'll do individual training because not everyone progresses at the same speed. You, Naruto, might need help with something the other two already know, or maybe your fighting style is different from theirs. Sasame will obviously need help with her tonfas too, something that you and Sasuke don't need."

Naruto nodded. "Oh, okay," he said with dawning realization.

"After the individual training we'll do a mission or two," Kakashi finished.

Naruto pumped his fist in the air in his excitement. "Alright!" he said loudly. "What are we waiting for? Let's get started, dattebayo!"

Kakashi closed his eyes in a smile, but for some reason, Sasame had a shiver go down her spine.

"Well then, let's get started."


	7. Chapter 7

"Maa, that wasn't so bad was it?" Kakashi asked cheerfully.

His students were too busy gasping for breath, bent over with their hands on their knees to give an answer.

Naruto was the first to get his voice back. "Y-Yeah, it was just fine, dattebayo," he said breathlessly. "All we did was do some stretches before running fifteen laps around the _really large_ training ground, fifty push-ups, and fifty sit-ups. Piece of cake!"

Sasame glared at him slightly. "Not...all of us...have your...stamina...Naruto," she said in between pants.

Sasuke said nothing, his pride not allowing him to show that he was more tired than his male teammate.

Kakashi sighed dramatically. "I hope you guys aren't too tired," he said forlornly. "We still have group training as well as individual training, not to mention the mission Hokage-sama will give us."

Naruto straightened up immediately, despite his tiredness. "Bring it on, dattebayo!" he said. "We can take it! Right guys?" he glanced at his teammates.

Sasame and Sasuke both straightened up, ignoring their aching limbs. "Right," Sasame said after taking a few breaths.

"Hn."

Sasame glanced at him in amusement. "We really need to work on your responses."

Sasuke looked at her. "Hn."

"See, you're just proving my point."

"Okay!" Kakashi clapped his hands, ending the discussion. "Time for group training. I hope you guys are up for it."

"Of course we're up for it!" Naruto said while pointing a finger at Kakashi dramatically. "Give us all you got, Kakashi-sensei! We can handle it!"

Ten minutes later, Sasame was cursing Naruto in her mind to the deepest pits of hell. They were running again, only this time, Kakashi-sensei had given them leaves stick to their body using their chakra.

They had one sticking to their forehead, one on each elbow, and one on both knees. The point of the exercise was to keep the leaves stuck to their body while they ran laps around the training ground like earlier. They had to run five laps in total, and if one of the leaves fell off, they had to start all over.

Naruto had to start over five times because the leaves that were supposed to stick to his knees and elbows kept falling off. His frustration kept getting in the way and he loses his concentration, causing him to stop moulding his chakra.

Sasuke had to start over twice because, once he started running after a while, the leaf on his forehead started to slip off. He became frustrated and lost his concentration, and caused the other leaves to fall off as well.

Sasame had to start over three times because the leaves on her elbows would start sliding off. She'd panic and lose her concentration over the other leaves and then they'd all fall off as well.

Kakashi told them that if they can do this exercise at least _halfway_ decent, then they would have a pretty good idea on how to divert their chakra for later uses.

"Being able to mould chakra is a big part to being a shinobi," he had said before they started. "If you're not able to mould your chakra or properly control it, then the techniques you're able to do are extremely limited. I don't expect you to have all the leaves still stuck to your body by the end of the exercise, because this is only to help give you an idea on how to control your chakra. Tomorrow, we'll be doing something different."

After an hour of running around, focusing on converting their chakra and struggling to keep the leaves from falling off their body, Kakashi finally told them to stop.

Sasame couldn't help but fall to her knees when he told them that. Not only was she physically tired, but she since hasn't used her chakra so extensively or continuously before, she had slight chakra exhaustion.

Naruto, being the chakra monster that he was, almost didn't feel the strain on his own reserves, but he was still physically tired, especially from the earlier warm-up, evident from the way he was bent over and gasping for breath.

Sasuke was used to using his chakra a lot. When his clan was still around, they had a tradition that their shinobi must be able to perform a fireball jutsu as a sort of coming-of-age rite, so he's used to practicing with his chakra. However, even _he_ had slight chakra exhaustion to join in his physical exhaustion.

"I'm proud of all of you," Kakashi said as he stood over them, a slight glint of approval in his visible eye.

Naruto looked at him in slight confusion. "Why would you be proud of us?" he asked, his face scrunched up as he stared at Kakashi. "We all had to start over at least two times each, and we always had one or more leaves falling off of us."

"As I said earlier Naruto, I didn't expect you guys to have all the leaves still stuck to your body by the end of the exercise," Kakashi explained. "It's one thing to be able to mould your chakra, it's another thing to control it well enough to keep the leaves stuck to your body at different chakra points."

"Oh."

"Now, next on the agenda is individual training, and then we'll head to the Hokage's office to get a mission," Kakashi said.

That seemed to get rid of most of Naruto's exhaustion. "Alright!" he shouted, his back straightening and his eyes lighting up in enthusiasm. "Finally, I'll learn awesome shinobi skills, dattebayo!"

"His moods change as quickly as a flickering light," Sasame muttered to Sasuke.

The corner of Sasuke's mouth tilted upwards in a slight smirk before his impassive look settled back on his face. "It's annoying," he murmured to her.

"Maybe, but I think it could be a little endearing sometimes."

Her only answer was a snort.

"How are you going to train us individually Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, practically vibrating in excitement and anticipation.

In response to the question posed, Kakashi made a hand sign, causing two more of him to appear in puffs of smoke. "After group training, two of you will go with my clones and one of you will stay with me."

Sasame finally straightened up to grin at Kakashi. "Sounds good," she said. "So who's going with who?"

"Naruto and Sasuke will go with my clones. Sasame will stay here with me this time."

"Awesome!" Naruto cheered.

Kakashi gestured to his clones. "Alright, Naruto, Sasuke, pick a clone and follow them," he ordered.

They both went up to one of the Kakashi's and was led away from the other, until it was just Sasame and the original one left.

"So what are we working on sensei?" she asked as she looked up at him.

Kakashi gestured to the tonfas strapped at her sides. "I'm going to teach you how to use those," he said. "Now, take them out."

Sasame did as he said, taking them from their holsters and gripping the handles.

"Tonfas are very versatile weapons," Kakashi explained. "They are designed to be used in melee combat but they can be used in a variety of ways."

Sasame tilted her head, a trickle of confusion entering her eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

"Tonfas are blunt weapons. They can't slash or stab as a blade can, but if they're used the right way, they can break or shatter bones and can even deflect kunai, shuriken, and swords."

Kakashi reached out and gently took one of the tonfas from Sasame. "There are three ways to hold a tonfa; the most common way is to grip the handle with the long end being braced against the bottom your forearm," he demonstrated what he was talking about as he talked. The long end reached just the end of his elbow and the other end jutted out slightly past his fist. "Holding it this way allows you to throw punches, block attacks, and use elbow strikes."

He shifted his grip on the weapon. "Another way to hold a tonfa is the reverse grip, so that the long end is jutting out past your fist and the short end is on your forearm." He demonstrated once more.

"And finally, the last way to hold a tonfa is by grabbing the long end with the handle facing downwards," Kakashi finished, demonstrating what he said for the last time.

He gave Sasame back her tonfa. "The trick to using tonfas is to be quick but decisive. You have to be able to shift your grip on the tonfa without hesitation or much thinking. Your hits must be hard and precise and you have to make judgment calls on how to handle it. For example, if an enemy shinobi is coming at towards you, you'll have about a second to decide how to hold your tonfa to engage in a fight."

Sasame was listening to his explanation with rapt attention. _'Wow, I didn't think about most of that when Kaa-san gifted them to me,'_ she thought to herself.

When Sasame's mom presented her with the tonfas, she knew that she'd most likely be a close combat fighter. They're melee weapons after all. Kind of hard to use if your opponent is a couple of yards from you.

However, she wasn't aware of the variety that they can have. She was aware of some of the things Kakashi said. But the rest of it? It left her in awe.

Aloud she said, "I had no idea they were so versatile."

"Nowadays most shinobi either focus on bladed weapons or not use weapons at all, besides kunai and shuriken, and focus on ninjutsu," Kakashi explained.

Kakashi gestured to the weapons in her hands. "Now, how about I show you katas for them?"

~wWw~

Sasuke followed his sensei's clone to a secluded part of the training ground.

On the outside, he held onto his calm and sedated façade, but excitement thrummed within him.

After he woke up in the hospital following his clan's brutal execution by his brother, he devoted almost all of his time to training.

But he didn't have much to go on. The more powerful jutsus of his clan, some C-rank and above, can only be read by someone who possesses the Sharingan.

Also, even though Sasuke is quite talented in taijutsu, he feels he could be better. He didn't have anyone he felt good enough to hold a decent spar with him so he could improve himself. Back at the academy, the spars they had were unfulfilling and didn't really challenge him.

Chouji wasn't committed to the fights because, in his words, 'he didn't like to fight his friends'. The only way he would give a fight his all was if someone insulted his friends or insulted him by calling him fat.

Not even Sasuke was stupid enough to make _that_ mistake.

Shikamaru...was lazy as hell. The guy just had no motivation whatsoever. He'd throw a few punches, and maybe a kick or two, but before Sasuke can actually get into the fight, he'd forfeit the match. Then he'd go off somewhere to take a nap.

Shino was okay. He wasn't really fit and he'd go down after five minutes against Sasuke but he was smart, indicated by how strategically he fought. Sasuke can respect that, albeit grudgingly.

Kiba was...wild. And chaotic. And overconfident. And boastful. He always made the first move and charged in headfirst without a plan. He goes down easily.

And then there was Naruto. As much as Naruto seems to be clueless in a lot of things, especially when it came to bookwork, when he fights, he's surprisingly unpredictable in a weird way. He's like Kiba in that he's wild and chaotic and overconfident. But as a fight goes on, Sasuke notices that he adjusts where he strikes his opponent as he figures them out.

' _It's one of the reasons he lasts so long against me,'_ Sasuke thought with a grumble. However, Naruto still loses to him in the end.

But now, Sasuke thinks back to what Sasame had said about their sensei, and the excitement within himself grew.

' _To have someone like him, who's powerful, intelligent, and skillfully misleading; for someone like him to be the person instructing me is_ perfect _,'_ Sasuke thought with a smirk. _'He isn't as incompetent as I thought he was at first glance.'_

Sasuke was so lost in his thoughts that he almost missed the clone of Kakashi stopping. He too stopped, preventing himself from crashing into the man before him.

He looked up at him. "So, what are we-" he started to ask but ducked to barely avoid a punch that seemed to come out of nowhere.

Sasuke stared up at his sensei in shock. "Kakashi-sensei? What are you doing?"

"I would like to see if we can improve your taijutsu," he said, shifting into a fighting stance. "Especially your defenses." He then lashed out at him with a kick. Sasuke hardly had enough time to duck underneath it before he came under a more heavy assault. He was barely able to even throw out his own hits as he was too busy blocking or dodging punches, kicks, jabs, and basically every other type of hit.

Despite the difficulty, Sasuke was smirking ever so slightly. _'This is what I need,'_ he thought euphorically. _'No one has given me a fight like this yet.'_

Right when he was starting to get used to the pace Kakashi had set, something happened that completely threw him off his game. He thought he caught an opening in his sensei's defense and went in for a hit.

It was then that Kakashi asked him a question. Just seven questions, yet they totally threw him off guard.

"Did you know I knew your brother?"

When he heard that, he faltered in his attack and his feet stumbled. Kakashi took that opportunity to land a hit on Sasuke's face, causing the genin to fall back onto the ground.

Sasuke hurried to his feet. "You knew my brother?" he asked in a tight voice, ignoring the slight sting on his face.

The clone of Kakashi-sensei merely ignored him as he launched another punch at his head. Sasuke ducked but he wasn't quick enough and Kakashi's fist clipped the top of his head.

Kakashi kept coming at him with more hits, and Sasuke defended against him once more, but his concentration was off. Kakashi was able to get more punches and kicks in and the few times that Sasuke tried to strike back, his attacks were sloppy.

Kakashi's clone sighed almost inaudibly.

He spoke up again. "You're brother and I were on the same ANBU team."

Again, Sasuke's focus was thrown, allowing Kakashi to land a solid kick to his chest, sending the genin back a few feet before he landed on his back once more.

Kakashi stood over Sasuke as the genin clutched at his chest. "You need to work on that Sasuke," the clone said.

Sasuke glared. "Work on what?" he said snappishly.

"Your reaction to everything regarding your brother," he said sharply, causing Sasuke to look away and glare at the ground.

"I've read your file when you were assigned to be one of my students, and I've heard what you said when we were all introducing ourselves. You want to kill your brother to avenge for your clan."

Sasuke's head snapped around to glare at Kakashi. "So what?!" he hissed. "He massacred my clan! He _killed_ my **parents**! It is my duty to kill him in return! To punish him for doing something he said was to just _test his skills!_ "

"I never said you were to give up on killing him," Kakashi said shortly. "I said you need to control your reaction to him. What do you think will happen if you come across an enemy shinobi who taunts you with knowledge on Itachi? Will you abandon a mission just to fight them? Will you attack them relentlessly until they give you the information you want if they even have it? Will you endanger your teammates just to find out what they could _possibly_ know? Will you lose focus like what you just did in the fight against me not five minutes ago?"

The whole time he was talking, Kakashi's eye never wavered from Sasuke's face. Sasuke, however, felt his face flush in both embarrassment and anger as he pointed everything out to him, and looked away with a scowl on his face.

"At this rate, you're going to get yourself killed before you even complete your revenge," Kakashi finished speaking.

Sasuke's hands were clenched into fists, his nails digging into the flesh of his palm hard enough that he was sure would draw blood and his knuckles were white. "What do you want from me?" he asked bitterly. "I _need_ to kill him! He needs to be punished!"

"What I want from you is control," Kakashi said. "Your ambition is yours to do what you wish, but if actions you do for it endanger the others, that's when you cross the line. If your actions endanger your teammates, I will not hesitate to drag you in front of Hokage-sama and get you taken off the shinobi corps until you could control your anger

Sasuke looked away as his sensei's clone uttered those words. He absolutely _hated_ being talked down to as if he was some disobedient child that needed to be put in their place. However, if he wanted to be able to continue being a shinobi and to get trained by one of the best, he'll have to play nice. For now.

He didn't say any of what he was thinking out loud. "Understood," he spoke up curtly, a scowl painted across his face.

And that's the best that Kakashi can hope for at this point. After all, he's only been his sensei officially for a day. Well, the original him anyway.

"Alright," he said. "Now, stand up. Let's actually try and polish up your taijutsu."

Sasuke, realizing that he was still on the ground, hastily scrambled to his feet and met his sensei's one-eyed gaze head-on.

"Alright."

~wWw~

Naruto had a spring in his step as he followed his sensei's clone.

' _What will he teach me, dattebayo?'_ he thought excitedly to himself. _'Will it be a kickass ninjutsu? A super cool fighting style that only I can do? Something only future Hokages can learn?'_

When Kakashi finally stopped, a good distance away from his other teammates, Naruto couldn't hold it in anymore. "So what are ya gonna teach me Kakashi-sensei?! A cool new jutsu?!"

The Kakashi-clone sighed to himself. _'He won't like this,'_ he thought forlornly.

"Naruto, we're going to fix how you fight."

Naruto's reaction didn't disappoint. "WHAT!?" he said, a scowl appearing almost instantly on his face. "Why do we have to fix how I fight? I fight just fine, dattebayo! Just teach me a new jutsu!"

"Naruto," Kakashi sighed. "We _have_ to fix how you fight. I noticed yesterday when you spared against me that the way you throw your punches are sloppy, the way you kick is off, and your stances leave you open for an attack."

Naruto looked at him in confusion. "Really? But I learned all of that at the Academy."

Kakashi raised a brow in surprise (the one that was visible anyway). "Really? Who taught you the katas for those moves and stances?" he asked.

Naruto opened his mouth to answer but then paused as an 'aha!' expression crossed his face.

"Naruto?" Kakashi prompted.

"...It was that bastard Mizuki," Naruto muttered as he glared at the ground.

Kakashi sighed again. Mizuki's disdain and hatred for Naruto apparently went beyond just using him as a scapegoat for the Forbidden Scroll. He taught him stances and katas that are guaranteed to hurt him in the long run, and since he was one of the only teachers who paid him any attention, Naruto didn't see the problem with it.

"Listen Naruto," Kakashi said in a serious tone. "I'm sorry that Mizuki betrayed your trust like that, but fighting in the way he 'taught' you, can wind up with you dead. We have to fix it."

Naruto's cheeks were red in embarrassment. Naruto knew Kakashi was right since Mizuki tried to frame him a couple of days ago while also betraying Konoha, but he didn't like how someone he had trusted had turned out to hate him. He didn't know how to handle it, so he chose to ignore it.

That also means to ignore the fact that the man taught him a defective fighting style. "C'mon Kakashi-sensei, I fight fine! I make it work, dattebayo! Just teach me a cool jutsu or-or how to use a wicked-looking sword!"

"Naruto!" Kakashi snapped, and Naruto flinched back slightly. The tone his sensei used reminded him of the few times that the Hokage was mad at him. Not upset or exasperated; truly _mad_ at him. "Being a shinobi isn't about flashy jutsus or taking an opponent down with a few jabs to their side. A shinobi must use whatever tools they have at their disposal to take their enemy down. If one of those tools happens to be a jutsu then that's fine, but that's not the only way to fight. Taijutsu is an important part of how most shinobi fight, and if you can't execute it properly, you will be taken down before you can even _think_ about using a jutsu."

Naruto was quiet as he listened to what his sensei said. His face was red again, but this time in shame.

Kakashi-clone wasn't finished speaking. "And what about your teammates? I know that you don't exactly get along with Sasuke, but what about Sasame? What happens if she's in trouble and you can't help her because you refused to learn how to fight right?"

Naruto flinched at that. One of the things Naruto craved above everything else are friends who won't look at him in disgust. The thought of harm coming to the few friends he had causes anxiety to fill his being.

Naruto swallowed heavily. "Okay sensei," he said quietly, properly chastised. "What do I have to do?"

The Kakashi-clone smiled slightly under his mask. He hated making the kid feel like crap but he needed to make him see sense. It'll help him in the long run, by making sure he doesn't get himself killed.

"To fix your fighting style you'll have to go through new katas to get your body used to fighting differently," Kakashi explained.

Naruto gave the clone a curious look. "How long will that take?" he asked, an undertone of annoyance in his voice.

"Normally? It'll take a long time, even up to a month for some," Kakashi answered, eliciting a groan from Naruto. "However, you're going to be different."

"Really?" Naruto perked up. "How?"

"You know the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** (Shadow Clone Jutsu)," Kakashi stated. At Naruto's nod, he continued speaking. "You used it to fight Mizuki and you used it to fight me. Did you ever notice anything after you used it?"

Naruto frowned as he thought about what his sensei asked him. Contrary to popular belief, he wasn't really stupid. He just learned more by doing because things involving theory seem too complicated for him.

Naruto thought back to the times he used the shadow clone jutsu, both against Mizuki and Kakashi.

"Well," Naruto said thoughtfully, "I remember fighting Mizuki in ways that I'm pretty sure I didn't do. I mean, I remember doing it but I'm pretty sure I didn't do it. I mean...ugh!" Naruto gripped his hair in frustration. "I don't know how to explain it -ttebayo!"

Kakashi chuckled slightly. "It's okay Naruto, I understand what you mean."

Naruto looked at him. "You do?"

He nodded. "The **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** (Shadow Clone Jutsu) isn't like other clone jutsus," he explained. "When the clone dispels, its memories are transferred back to the original."

"So," Naruto said slowly, "those images that popped into my head were my clones' memories?" When Kakashi nodded again, he asked another question. "But, how does this help with fixing my fighting style?"

"Since you learn what your clone learns we can cut your learning time down."

Excitement had begun to thrum through Naruto as he began to understand what his sensei was saying. "So if my clones learn things and I get their memories after they dispel, then that means I learn what they learn right? And...since I learn what they know then that means I don't have to spend as much time learning something right?"

"That's right."

Naruto fist-pumped the air in excitement. "Yatta!" he yelled. "Whenever I have to learn something all I have to do is make a hundred clones and-"

Kakashi held a hand up. "Hold on a second Naruto," he said abruptly. His tone wiped Naruto's grin off his face as he stared warily at the older man. "You can't make that many copies all at once."

"What?" Naruto said in confusion. "Why not? I made a lot of clones when I fought that bastard Mizuki."

"And did you feel weird after you dispelled them?" Kakashi prompted. "Dizziness? Headaches? Nausea?"

Naruto blushed again and looked towards the ground. "I had a small headache," he muttered after a moment.

In truth, his headache was nearly excruciating. After Iruka-sensei had given Naruto his hitai-ate for him to wear, he went straight home and ended up bent over his toilet, the contents of his stomach pouring from his mouth. And then that's when the dizziness had set in. The reason he was late to team assignments was that he wasn't able to get to sleep until early morning. But he didn't realize that it came from him spamming a lot of clones.

Kakashi nodded. "You can't strain your mind like that," he said. "Not yet anyway. Getting an overload of memories like that will only damage your mind in the long run. For now, just make five clones."

Naruto frowned unhappily but did as he said, making the hand sign that was practically instinct to him now. " **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** (Shadow Clone Jutsu)!"

Seven popped up instead of the intended five. Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he looked at them. "Uh, my bad," he said. He dispelled the extra two clones before he and his clones turned to look at Kakashi-clone.

Kakashi nodded in approval. "Alright, get into a fighting stance. I'll get you started on some _correct_ katas."

Naruto nodded and assumed a stance he gets into whenever he's about to fight, unable to keep a grin from forming on his face.

' _Here we go!'_ he thought to himself enthusiastically. _'Time for some_ real _ninja training, dattebayo!'_

~wWw~

Sometime later, the real Kakashi led his students towards the Hokage's office for their first mission. When his clones had come back with Naruto and Sasuke and dispelled to give him their memories, he was surprised to see their progress. Along with Sasame, those two were doing really well already.

Before he could think on it more, Naruto's voice ripped him from his thoughts.

"I wonder what we'll do for our first mission!" he was saying excitedly to his two teammates. Well, he was mostly talking to Sasame. Sasuke made it out as if he couldn't care about what was being said, but the glint in his eyes showed he was actually paying attention.

"I'm not sure," Sasame said thoughtfully. "Whenever I ask Kaa-san about D-rank missions she always just looks at me, smiles, then says 'you'll see'."

Kakashi mentally grinned at that. _'Thank you Nami-san',_ he thought gleefully. _'I'll be able to see her genuine reaction to D-rank missions.'_

Moments later, they entered the building and made their way towards the Hokage's office, with all four of them having varying degrees of excitement thrumming through them.

"Hello Hokage-sama," Kakashi said respectfully as he entered the room, ushering his students inside as he held the door open.

Sarutobi looked up. "Ah, hello Kakashi," he said warmly. "Team seven here for their first D-rank mission then?"

"Of course," he answered as his team stood at attention.

"Very well," the Hokage said while ruffling through some papers. "Let's see what missions are available."

Sasuke was staring forward, an almost bored look on his face, but he was anxiously awaiting to hear what his first mission was going to be like.

Sasame was trying to contain her enthusiasm but she couldn't keep the grin off her face, her pulsing quickening in excitement.

Naruto wasn't even bothering to hide how excited he was, bouncing on the balls of his feet and his smile so big his eyes were shut.

Kakashi was grinning behind his mask. _'Oh you poor, innocent, naive little genin,'_ he thought with relish. The hidden ANBU in the room couldn't help the grin that appeared over their faces as they remembered their first time receiving a D-rank mission.

"Right here we are," the Hokage said as he drew a couple of papers. "Naomi-san needs her garden weeded, the Inuzuka clan need people to walk some of their dogs, and Tanaka-san needs his fence painted. Which one would your team be taking Kakashi?"

Kakashi took a discreet look at his team's reaction and laughed under his breath at their facial expressions. Sasuke actually had an expression of disbelief on his face instead of his regular aloof look. Sasame looked like a fish with the way her mouth was opening and closing as if she was trying to say something. Naruto just looked like someone asked him the world's hardest math problem.

"We'll take the weeding job Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, the grin he has hidden by his mask plain in his tone of voice.

The Hokage coughed to hide a laugh that bubbled up at Kakashi's amusement at the situation. "Alright," he said. "I'll mark that job down as taken by Team Seven."

"Thank you," Kakashi said as he turned to walk out the room. "C'mon you guys," he called over his shoulder at his team. "We have a _mission_ to complete."

He walked out of the room and made his way down the hallway. "And in five...four...three...two...one," he counted down as he walked away.

" **SENSEI**!"

Kakashi laughed outright. "Now I know why Minato-sensei was always smiling when he took me and the others for D-rank mission," he muttered under his breath, a grin still on his concealed face. "It's _fun_."

~wWw~

The sun was setting over the village of Konoha. Shinobi were still out and about but there weren't that many of them. Well, there weren't many that were _seen_. Most civilians were either at home or out in restaurants or bars or clubs.

Mostly though, the inhabitants of the village were settling down for the night.

In a house in the nicer part of the village, a young girl was making dinner for herself, since her mother was still out on a mission. Today was her first day of training with her team and doing her first mission.

Sasame couldn't help but scoff to herself. "If you could even call that a mission," she muttered quietly. She now understood why her mother always seemed amused when she had asked about D-rank missions. Granted, all shinobi learn about missions while still at the academy, but they never specify exactly what the missions will be.

Pushing away her half-eaten food, she thought back to her training with Kakashi-sensei. He taught her new katas that will help her fight with her tonfas. And since she's going to fight with weapons more than her bare hands, these katas were more demanding than the ones she were used to. Her arms ached in ways they haven't before at the unfamiliar stretches and movements.

She thought back to how she had to swing her arms to deliver blows, how she had to move her arms certain ways to block, and how she had to position herself certain ways to deliver her attacks properly. It was very demanding and tiresome to master, but she would keep at it nonetheless.

' _I have to keep working on them,'_ she thought fiercely. _'To become a better shinobi and to make Tou-san proud of me, I need to work on my katas to become better at wielding my tonfas.'_

No longer hungry, Sasame got up and made her way towards her backyard, determination thrumming through her. _'Practice doesn't end because I'm not with my sensei and teammates. I need to keep up my training.'_

A ways away in the not-so-nice area of the village, near the red light district, in fact, was her blond teammate Naruto. He was holed up in his apartment, for once not eating any of his ramen cups. He knows how to cook, he has to since he lived alone since he was five, he just prefers ramen most of the time. Right now, he's munching on a rice ball, lost in thought.

Earlier when he and his teammates heard what were supposed to be D-rank missions, his mind sort of screeched to a halt and blanked for a second before anger overtook him and his teammates. Even _Sasuke_ showed some emotion on his face. While weeding Naomi-san's garden as their 'mission', although Naruto prefers to call it a _chore_ , he and the others had muttered all sorts of choice words about their sensei for making them do it, about Iruka-sensei for not warning them about D-ranks, and even the Hokage, who Naruto was pretty sure was _smiling_ in _amusement_ when they came back to report a finished chore - oops, wrong word; a finished _mission_.

However, Naruto was thinking back to what happened earlier, when Kakashi was training him in new katas. His arms and legs were stretched in news ways that were unfamiliar, but he can already see that this new style is way better than the trash Mizuki taught to him. He's even able to defend his body better. The fact that Mizuki taught the faulty style to him just so he can die on a mission later really hit him hard. He's used to people disliking him, banning him from stores, overpricing everything he bought except for his orange jumpsuit, selling him the lowest quality of food available, and on the rare occasion a drunken encounter with a civilian that resulted in a slap or two...but someone who wanted to kill him? And not only that but a shinobi like him?

It was mostly civilians who didn't hide how much they disliked him. The only shinobi whom he has seen show a dislike for him were the ones who were chasing him after he had done a prank on someone, and even then they were mostly irritated at having to chase down a kid. Mizuki was the first person to be upfront about his intentions to him. Every time he thought back to the look in Mizuki's eyes as he was about to throw his Fuma Shuriken at him made him shudder in disgust and slight fear.

However, instead of scaring him into submission, what Mizuki did made Naruto even more determined to become Hokage, to prove to everyone that he isn't the demon they thought he was, and to protect the few people who treat him like a person they care about.

When Kakashi-sensei had finished teaching him the basic stances and he and his clones started going through the katas, he couldn't help but ask him, "How come you don't hate me?"

Kakashi had looked at him, an unreadable look in his eye that Naruto couldn't figure out, before he said, "You're just a kid, not some demon. Some people need something or someone to blame for the death of their loved ones that the Kyuubi had caused, but to take it out on you is stupid and, quite frankly, disgusting. You didn't ask for any of this; why should I hate you for something you had no control over?" He then changed the subject to what they were doing but what he said had struck something in Naruto.

He doesn't trust easily, and when he's spurned he cuts the person off with ferociousness, but when someone believes in him, like Iruka-sensei and Hokage-jiji and the Ichiraku's and even Sasame, he strives to prove to them that their belief wasn't a mistake. So when Kakashi-sensei taught him new katas and stances without an ounce of anger and with genuine intentions, Naruto promised himself to try his best to show him and everyone else that he was worth it.

Almost across the village in a clan compound training ground was Sasame and Naruto's male teammate, who was throwing kunai and shuriken at some targets to keep his mind calm.

To say he was mad at what the so-called mission turned out to be was an understatement. He doesn't want to waste his time in what he sees as chores that the people who asked for the mission could've done themselves. For once, he agreed with the words that his idiotic teammate had spewing from his mouth as they weeded a stupid garden. Unfortunately, when Sasuke asked Naruto to make some of his clones so that they could finish quicker, Kakashi had interjected quite cheerfully to say that he wasn't allowed. The glares he aimed at his sensei's head afterward were so fierce that, in Sasame's words, 'I'm surprised that flames didn't encircle his head.'

After Sasuke threw all of his kunai and shuriken, he went up to the targets to remove them, his mind traveling to what his sensei had said earlier that day.

His sensei knew his brother. Something that he hadn't even considered but made sense when you thought about it. They were both geniuses who graduated the academy early, it's not all that impossible that they crossed paths before. That they were on the same ANBU team is surprising but not overly so. However, the realization that his brother might have had other people in his life other than the clan as friends made him think that it wasn't just him that his brother hurt with his betrayal. But he was the most angered.

After he retrieved his projectiles and jogged back over to throw them again, he again thought to what occurred when he was training with Kakashi, only this time he was thinking back to a question he had asked him.

"Why do I need to improve my taijutsu?" Sasuke had asked. "I thought it was fine."

Kakashi looked over at him and replied with, "I had an Uchiha on my team when I was your age. You fight like how he did when starting out before our sensei started teaching us. The style you're using is just a starting point; you have to build on it."

What he took from that conversation was that his sensei knew another member from his clan. Sasuke doesn't talk to anyone about his family because, for one, not many people knew anyone from his clan that well, and for two, most people in the village look at him in pity, even now.

He threw a shuriken harder than intended as he thought about it. One of the things he absolutely HATES is other people's pity. He hates it when people look at him like some kind of tragic hero, or even worse, they look at him the way his father did; expectant. Because he's an Uchiha and because his brother was a prodigy, he's supposed to be the same way. And while he does think that he's an excellent shinobi, he hates it when people only nod their head with an 'as expected' attitude. He wanted them to acknowledge his achievements because he worked hard, not because of his clan status or who his sibling was.

His teammates and his sensei are some of the few who treat him normally - even Naruto. While he always challenged him at the Academy and was almost always in his personal space, Naruto always treated him like a regular rival, something he was grateful for.

He and Sasame were never close at the academy, but the few times that they've crossed paths she never looked at him differently and she treated him similarly to the way she treated her friends Shikamaru and Chouji.

And Kakashi, his one-eyes sensei. Other than Iruka-sensei, he's the only sensei that looked at him as another student, and doesn't put him on a pedestal. The other senseis at the Academy all treated him like a hero and praised him, the 'Last Loyal Uchiha', on his progress. And while a small part of him was glad that they acknowledged his status as an Uchiha, a larger part of him is always disappointed that they don't acknowledge his feats just because he did them himself.

Kakashi-sensei, however, just treats him like he does Sasame and Naruto, and Sasuke can't help but be slightly relieved.

' _Maybe...maybe I can trust him, if only a little bit,'_ he thought cautiously as he continued to throw kunai and shuriken.

And finally, a ways away from the Uchiha Compound stood the one and only Hatake Kakashi in front of the Memorial Stone.

He sighed. "So, today was the first day I trained my team," he said as he stared at a particular name on the stone. "I think I did okay, I mean, I guess it could've been worse. Sasame has nice chakra reserves, not as big as Naruto's or Sasuke's, but not as small as an average kunoichi's when they first become genin. I'm teaching her how to wield her tonfas and she catches on pretty quickly. Sasuke has anger issues, kind of like how I was in the beginning, but maybe a bit worse. But he's really talented and has a great work ethic. And Naruto...he has the most potential. He's a little rough around the edges and his chakra control isn't as good as what I'd like, but he picks things up quickly and is battle smart from what I've seen."

Kakashi ran a hand through his hair and sighed again. "I don't know how you did it sensei," he said in a tired tone. "Those three are kind of like how we were when we were your students. You know at first, I was just going to beat teamwork into them, so they didn't end up like how we did but...something the Sandaime said stuck with me."

" _And Kakashi?_ Do _train them as well as you can. I haven't seen this much potential since my students, and they grew up to become the Sannin."_

"What he said, reminded me of something you said to me, sensei," Kakashi admitted. "A few days before the mission that killed Obito."

 _~Flashback~_

 _Kakashi stood off to the side, his arms crossed and a look of annoyance in his eyes, the scowl on his face hidden by his mask. Obito had tried to impress Rin with something but just ended up making a fool of himself, so now she was scolding him while he wore a sheepish smile on his face._

" _It's amazing isn't it?" A voice said behind him, causing him to jump slightly before turning around. His sensei was staring at Obito and Rin with a small smile on his face._

" _What's amazing?" Kakashi asked blandly._

" _You three," his sensei answered as he turned to look at him._

" _What's so amazing about us?"_

" _The way you guys act outside of missions but still manage to come together to finish them," he said with a chuckle. "You three have a lot of potential. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if you guys became the next generation Sannin."_

 _Kakashi couldn't stop the snort that escaped his mouth. "Us? The next generation Sannin?" he asked in disbelief._

" _Really? You don't see it?"_

" _Obito is a dead-last idiot and Rin spends more time worrying about boys than about training," Kakashi said bluntly._

 _His sensei chuckled again. "Now Kakashi-kun, just because they aren't as crazy about training as you are, doesn't mean they slack off," he admonished slightly. "And Obito-kun being dead-last doesn't mean anything. In fact, Jiraiya-sensei was dead-last in his class too."_

" _What?" Kakashi said in shock. "Jiraiya-sama was dead-last?"_

 _His sensei nodded in amusement. "Uh-huh. But he became a member of the Sannin as well as my sensei; I turned out alright, didn't I?"_

 _Kakashi didn't answer._

 _The man grinned slightly as he turned to look back at his other two students, knowing that his slightly socially awkward student was thinking over what he said._

" _You really think that we can be like the Sannin sensei?" Kakashi eventually asked, doubt coloring his tone._

 _Namikaze Minato smiled. "I don't just think it; I believe in it."_

 _~End Flashback~_

Kakashi reached out to brush his fingertips against his sensei's name. "You thought we could become like Jiraiya-sama's team, but we were doomed. Obito and Rin both died within a year of each other, then you died too, and now it's just me. We never got the chance to come into our potential as a team like you thought we could. I don't want my students to end up like that; cut down before they could realize what they can do. I'll do everything I can to train and help them."

Kakashi let his hand drop. "I don't know exactly how to go about it," he said, "but I'll try some of the things you did with us, and maybe some things I've learned from ANBU, too. I won't let you down sensei."

His glance fell on two other names. "I hope I can redeem myself this way," he whispered.

His eyes took in his darkening surroundings and a sigh left his lips as he realized that he needed to leave.

"I need to go," he said as he stared at the stone. "But I'll be back later, you guys won't be forgotten. Ja ne."

He shunshined away from there, the remaining light of the sun glinting off of the Memorial Stone.


End file.
